Honey: 00 Zhang

This exhibition marks the official UK debut of 00 Zhang’s new interactive game work, Honey, which is currently on display in an alternative format at X Museum, Beijing (until 14 February 2025). It also coincides with 00 Zhang’s showcase with Gazelli Art House in a group presentation at ART SG, Singapore (17–19 January 2025). 

Through her multi-faceted practice, 00 Zhang examines the relationship between individuals and broader societal and architectural structures, emphasising the circulation of bodies, memories, and emotions across space and time. The project Honey is an interdisciplinary exploration of biodiversity, ecological crises, and the profound interconnections between species. It delves into the unique qualities of bees, encompassing their ecological networks and complex relationship with human civilisation, commodification and labour. The exhibition also includes a sculpture from 00 Zhang’s Prototype series – intricate biomorphic compositions that blur the lines between human and animal bodies, technological systems, and the physical and virtual worlds.  

The title of the game, ‘蜜’ (Honey), carries layered significance in Chinese language. The pictograph not only represents the sweetness of honey but also morphologically traces its producer, the bee (虫, 蜂), and its habitat, the hive (宀).  Honey also serves as a metaphor for the sacred – a golden substance flowing between the material and immaterial, embodying prosperity, longevity, and humanity’s quest to comprehend the cosmos. In recent years, resource depletion and ecological crises have dramatically altered the living conditions of countless species, including humans. By highlighting humanity as part of nature rather than distinct from it, Honey invites us to reflect on our interdependent roles within these fragile systems.

GAZELL.iO is proud to present 00 Zhang’s exhibition in which cutting-edge digital and sculptural processes are used to explore multi-species connections and ecological futures. Audiences are invited to engage with the Honey game to experience a trans-dimensional perspective on survival, adaptation, and ecological interdependence within our rapidly shifting world.

Honey (2024) was created with support from the following collaborators:
Technical artist and game design: QianLan Wang
AI engineer and game design: Yiyang Lu
Programmer: Hankun Yu
Sound FX and Concept: 33EMYBW
UI: Huichuan Wang
Dramatrug: Yinuo Chen
Artist assistant: Julia Wu