Curated by Circle Arts, featuring artworks by Yefan Liu, Zilan Zhou, and Jiayi Chen
At the 2025 Red Dot Miami Art Fair, Circle Arts presents a curated video installation that combines experimental photography, material-based imaging, and ecological reflection. Featuring the works of Yefan Liu, Jiayi Chen, and Zilan Zhou, the project examines how endangered animal bodies are rendered invisible through systems of classification, documentation, and collective neglect, raising questions about what it means for a species to be seen before it disappears.
Red Dot Miami Art Fair is an international platform for contemporary art and design, where experimental practices intersect with public discourse. Within this setting, Circle Arts situates the installation not as a speculative future scenario, but as a present condition grounded in existing ecological data and the current status of endangered species worldwide.
The installation is based on nearly one hundred animal images developed in response to the IUCN Red List, spanning multiple levels of endangerment. Each animal form is printed as a Polaroid-style photograph and overlaid with a heat-sensitive surface. Under neutral conditions, the images appear blank, withholding the animal’s presence until thermal activation allows the form to gradually emerge. This mechanism metaphorically addresses the visibility of endangered species before their disappearance.
Yefan Liu, a product designer, developed the animal imagery and the material realization of the work. She focused on translating ecological data into tactile visual systems, using heat-responsive materials to explore how information about endangered species is perceived, forgotten, or overlooked. Liu’s practice bridges product design and speculative visual storytelling, emphasizing material behavior as a narrative medium rather than a functional surface. Her role was central to the concept and execution of the project.
Jiayi Chen, a UI designer, conducted early-stage research to explore how animal imagery could be visualized and perceived in relation to viewers. He investigated ways to translate ecological and conceptual data into a coherent visual format for the video-based installation, contributing to the overall success of the work by ensuring its conceptual logic and experiential clarity.
Zilan Zhou, a product designer, contributed to the development of the animal imagery, helping to shape the visual forms and coherence of the series.
Curated by Circle Arts, the installation situates design, technology, and ecological awareness within a shared visual system. By highlighting the threshold between visibility and disappearance, the project encourages reflection on how systems of classification, such as the Red List, both document and distance us from the living realities they describe.
Presented at Red Dot Miami Art Fair, the installation contributes to contemporary discussions on how art and design can render systems of loss perceptible before invisibility becomes extinction. Through conceptual clarity and material restraint, the project emphasizes the urgency of attention and responsibility, framing artistic practice as a mediator between ecological awareness and perceptual engagement.
