Optimized Series Description for 2017–2023 / Selected Works
Paradise and Balloon Series (2017–2023)

Zhong’s early works transform familiar symbols—amusement park rides, slides, and swings—into dynamic, living forms, blending playful imagery with metaphors such as lace, hair, umbilical cords, and balloons. These motifs explore femininity, desire, and the tensions of contemporary life, while evoking childhood nostalgia and fleeting comfort.


The Balloon Series, a derivative of Paradise, extends these themes into the exploration of space and boundaries. Balloons appear as vessels of emotion—hope, anxiety, or escape—and the environments they inhabit, from swimming pools and elevators to corridors and other confined spaces, create a sense of liminality. These works reflect the search for belonging, the pressures of confinement, and the thresholds between reality and imagination, transforming the ordinary into moments of subtle adventure.