Shanshan Zhang

Biography

Shanshan Zhang is a London-based transdisciplinary artist and doctoral researcher at the University of the Arts London (UAL). Her work operates at the intersection of choreography, embodied cognition, and emerging technologies, focusing on how digital mediation transforms the aesthetic and philosophical dimensions of movement.

She is currently developing "Boundfusion," an emerging research framework that redefines immersion in performance as a relational process rather than a purely sensory effect. This framework explores how misalignment and ambiguity between virtual and physical environments can heighten collective engagement and embodied presence.

Zhang’s technical and scholarly contributions are internationally recognized. Her research on multi-sensory VR (aero-haptic and thermal feedback) is featured in the 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VRW). Parallel to her technological inquiries, she serves as a lead researcher on a prestigious intercultural project sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia, investigating the relational activation of legends through participatory art.

With a professional background that includes directing the opening and closing ceremonies of the 14th National Games of China (2021), Zhang bridges large-scale public spectacle with intimate, high-tech performance, challenging traditional boundaries of space and cultural identity.