Bowen Zhang (B. Zhoushan) is an artist and curator, currently based between London and the Zhoushan Archipelago (China). Bowen graduated with an MA in Fine Art from the Slade School of Fine Art in 2024, following a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies from the University of Sydney. Bowen has been awarded the Sarabande Emerging Artist Fund and the Jeanne Szego Travel Award and has been recognized as the runner-up for the Ivan Juritz Prize and shortlisted for the Bloomsbury Festival. Bowen has contributed to exhibitions and events across London, Sydney, Shanghai and Zhoushan.

Drawing inspiration from his family's deep roots in fisheries and manual labour, his identity as an islander and part of the Chinese diaspora, Bowen’s practice delves into the topics concerning island studies, maritime labour, power structure regarding masculinity, corporate system and class, and leisure tourism in the rural area. Bowen’s artistic endeavours span mediums such as object-making, writing, socially engaged projects, and actions, offering a multifaceted exploration of his heritage and its intersection with contemporary issues.

Bowen intends to use the nature of the archipelago to construct a decentralized non-hierarchical framework for organizing, developing and exhibiting his practice. Instead of trying to construct a logical narrative, he tends to create poetic co-existence and curate a space for observing potential correlation. Situating his current artistic practice among islands and seas, Bowen addresses performativity and masculinity within the fishing industry and explores the personal and public relationships with labour in mainland China. Additionally, he discussed the romanticization of the rural space and its relationship with tourism. Furthermore, Bowen has also experimented with the materiality and aesthetic of researched space and tried to create a vocabulary of materials charged with pre-existing concepts and emotions including salt, rust, metal, and nets.

In addition to studio practice, Bowen also dedicated his time to community practice, which involved the Chinese diaspora, emerging artists, and non-hierarchical structure. In 2022, Bowen founded West Secret Society, an Artist-led Mandarin-speaking critique and was granted the EDI fund (2023-2025), and Action Guide Organization, an open platform for performance art focusing on re-enactment and social change. Bowen also co-founded the artist-led curatorial initiative, Small-Time Project, in 2024, focusing on repurposing commercial real estate for artistic causes. (Need Update)

Download Bowen Zhang’s CV (Updated on 29 June 2025)