Halle Zhao

Bachelor of Visual Arts
Screen Arts

The theme of the work is "Dream Core". After investigation, we found that the "Dream Core" image is very contradictory and complex. The "dream core" is the "monster" we long to see - not just a picture but a reflection of our inner self. It symbolises the imprisoned soul and the desire for freedom and contains both light and dark sides.

Based on the concept of the dream core, we identified four themes for this work: childhood, parents, love and life aspirations. These four themes are part of our lives, and all present both positive and negative aspects, in line with the concept of the "dream core". Secondly, we divided people and experiences into two categories: parenting and love, which are people-centred, and childhood and life-views, which are experience-based.

The work's output is divided into two main parts: the digital paintings and the small cards. The four digital paintings can be considered equivalent to the covers of our work, each cover corresponding to a theme. For the small cards, we chose 8 derivative themes from the 4 main themes to create, and each card shows the unique orientation of the corresponding theme.

Halle Zhao, New Contemporaries, 2024, installation Photo: Document Photography
Dream Core (Childhood), 2024, Digital Painting

Dream Core (Childhood), 2024, Digital Painting

Dream Core (parenting), 2024, Digital Painting

Dream Core (parenting), 2024, Digital Painting

Small Card (childhood and parenting), 2024, Digital Painting

Small Card (childhood and parenting), 2024, Digital Painting

Jiahui Zhao (Halle) Now studying a Bachelor of Visual Arts at the University of Sydney, specializing in gouache, acrylic and digital painting and animation, Halle’s hope is to express her inner thoughts and emotions through her art, to build empathy with the viewer, and to convey her personal stories and experiences.