Fluid visions: Exploring lava, femininity, and form with Yizhen Li

Creating New Spaces: Interviews with artists redefining spaces through technology

In this interview, new media artist Yizhen Li shares the creative process behind Lava’s Lament, an immersive installation exhibited at Gray Area in San Francisco in early 2024 as part of Gray Area’s Cultural Incubator. Yizhen’s work blends soft materials, light, and projections to create a space that explores themes of femininity, memory, and the natural cycles that connect us to the environment.

Originally from Sichuan, China, Yizhen draws from traditional cultural elements and combines them with contemporary digital practices to create dynamic, multisensory experiences. Lava’s Lament reflects this approach, using a cone-shaped fabric structure as a vessel for projection and soundscapes inspired by volcanic imagery.

Listen to this episode to learn about:

• How Yizhen uses an iterative process to test and refine materials for these immersive installations.
• The challenges of blending digital projections with physical elements to evoke fluidity and wholeness.
• Yizhen’s insights into creating art that connects natural themes with personal and cultural narratives

Chapters

(00:00:00) Exploring femininity and nature through immersive art installations(00:03:19) Volcanic imagery, ecofeminism, and philosophy (00:05:00) Femininity and nature in immersive art (00:06:07) Prototyping immersive volcanic visuals (00:10:29) Materiality to immersive fluidity (00:14:20) Challenges with fabric projections (00:16:11) Materiality and living systems in media art (00:18:45) Flexibility and adaptation in audiovisual work

About Yizhen Li

Yizhen Li is a new media artist and designer whose work encompasses audio-visual installations, generative art, and experience design. Her practice is distinguished by the innovative use of soft materials, light, and projections, blending traditional cultural elements with cutting-edge digital techniques to create immersive, fluid experiences.

Originally from Sichuan, China, Yizhen integrates materials like rice paper and textiles with ephemeral light to explore themes of femininity, memory, and environmental cycles. With a background in studio arts, stage design, and human interaction design, her dynamic approach pushes the boundaries of immersive media, continuously evolving to connect audiences with deeper cultural and natural narratives.

Read Robin’s reflection on this conversation - Rethinking media art processes: from digital tools to physical prototyping

Links from the podcast

• Follow Yizhen Li on Instagram
• Explore Gray Area Gray Area
• Visit Southeast of Rain’s website