夢之初 Dawn of Dreams

now on
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 榛子瞬 is a Chinese-born interdisciplinary artist living and making in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa New Zealand. Working across film, performance and mark-making, Zed creates work that asks what happens when migration, belonging, and the myriad of ways we learn to become ourselves are lived and felt. 

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 storytelling. 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. Zed has performed live at the Auckland Fringe Festival 2024 and the Auckland Pride Festival 2025. In 2026, Zed’s second short film, Ink Dance 墨之舞 premiered at the Greece International Film Festival, receiving honourable mentions. 

Zed holds an MFA with 1st-class honours from Elam, the School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland.