夢之初 Dawn of Dreams

upcoming
2 Sep – 5 Sep

Zed Xu 榛子瞬

Dawn of Dreams 夢之初  is a transnational film work tracing an embodied migratory journey through cinematic composition, experimental guzheng performance, and mark-making. The film was made across China and New Zealand. Written, produced, performed, and directed by Zed Xu in collaboration with cinematographer Nick Willoughby and original score by Jefferson Chen (Goodspace). 

The live performance on opening night negotiates time, space, the body and material encounter to enquire into migratory belongings. Performed to the film’s original score, the work asks whether a racialised body can truly belong, or remain in constant transit and flux. 

 

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Curated by Cai Jieying 蔡杰盈

Zed Xu is a New Zealand migrant interdisciplinary artist of Chinese descent. With a background in education and makeup artistry, Zed was inspired by her time working on LOTR, the Rings of Power S1 and began pursuing filmic visual story-telling. Their debut short film Now You See Me 如梦初醒 won the Creative Eye award at the Los Angeles Asian Film Awards in 2024. In 2026, Zed’s second film Ink Dance 墨之舞 had its world premiere at Greece International Film Festival, receiving honourable mentions.

Zed holds a MFA degree with 1st class honours from Elam the school of Fine Arts (University of Auckland). They are currently pursuing a Fine Arts PhD with Creative Practice at Massey University. Her research focuses on modern Chinese femininity through a migrant lens, which is reflected in Zed's ongoing exploration of self-portraits through film, painting and performance art.