Interview Sheng-Wen Lo

Artist and Rijksakademie alum Sheng-Wen Lo (RA 19/21) is currently based at ARTIS as part of an ongoing collaboration between the Rijksakademie and ARTIS Amsterdam. His multidisciplinary practice explores the complex dynamics between humans and animals, using tools such as video, workshops and installation to question how we observe, relate to and behave around other species and nature.

At ARTIS he focuses on the behaviours of both animals and people, aiming to gently disrupt familiar patterns and invite fresh perspectives on ecology and sustainability. We caught up with him about his residency and what it means to ‘work with’ animals rather than ‘for’ them.

Almost everyone has their own experiences and impressions about “zoos”, and I think city zoos are curious places where people form interesting relationships with animals. For this residency, I am interested in behaviours: that of the animals and of the visitors.

As humans, we naturally think human-centrically. Although we usually have good intentions for non-humans, I think we need more practice on how to ‘listen’ to the them: What do non-humans really need?

If possible, I would like to implement something fun but also awkward for the visitors; something that allows us to see ourselves and reflect on our own behaviours.

Before I started in ARTIS, I honestly didn't know how it would feel to work here. When I was at the Rijksakademie, it had been fascinating to remind myself that all these animals live less than 300 meters from me; now I am in ARTIS, I feel like a new animal in the zoo. Perspective taking and direct experiences are important in my practice, and I guess being in the zoo helps me in this context, sometimes in unexpected ways.

Sheng’s guest residency at ARTIS will run until March 2026. We will keep you informed on his research and activities.