Jo Zixuan

Full Moon is for Reunions

A circular book recreating the moon's cycle through the turn of its pages

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Jo Zixuan (
周子璇
) is a Chinese-American graphic designer and illustrator, currently based in New York City. Having graduated from SVA with a BFA in illustration and RISD with an MFA in Graphic Design, Jo specializes in visual storytelling, bi-scriptual typography, and expressive systems. Her concept- and research-driven process takes form in visual identities, books, spaces, and websites. She maintains a teaching practice through adjunct teaching, mentorship and
Illustration Roundtable.
‍
CLIENTS
The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, NPR, Columbia Global Report, Medium, NBC, PLANSPONSOR, NYT for KIDS China, The Atlantic, Narratively, Toggl, Intel, FCB Inferno, Dotdash, The Balance, Thought Co., Lifewire, TripSavvy, The Spruce,
三联《少年》
,
新世相


FEATURES
It's Nice That, Groundooh Art, Hiiibrand

AWARDS
2022 - Society of Illustrators 65 Annual
2021 - Communication Arts 63 Winner
2020 - Hiiibrand Jury Award
2020 - American Illustration 39 Winner
2020 - Society of Illustrators Annual
2019 - Society of Illustrators Student Scholarship Competition Finalist
2019 - 3 x 3 International Illustration Award Merit Winner
2019 - The Batsford Prize International Category Shortlisted
2018 - Speedball New Impressions winner, Intaglio/Etching Second Place

EXHIBITIONS
2023 - eMotion, Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven
2023 - Sino-German Illustration Exhibition, HISMOON gallery, Suzhou
2021 - NO SAMPLE Risograph Exhibition, Fujian
2021 - NO SAMPLE Risograph Exhibition, Xi'an
2019 - Society of Illustrators Student Scholarship, New York
2019 - Speedball National Printmaking Showcase, Davis Gallery, Sawtooth, NC
2018 - The Haves and Have-Nots, SVA Chelsea Gallery, New York 2018 - Constellations, SVA Chelsea Gallery, New York
2018 - HOPE Competition, SVA Westside Project Space, New York

COLOPHON
Web design
Jo Zixuan

Typeface
Authentic Sans by Christina Janus and Desmond Wong
‍Situated Sans by Thea Kim
‍

Full Moon is for Reunions

A circular book recreating the moon's cycle through the turn of its pages

Category

Print

Year

2023

Spec

5.87" x 10.51"
149 x 267mm

The full moon is a symbol of reunion in China. It’s celebrated in the Mid-Autumn Festival, when people travel back to their hometowns and enjoy mooncakes with family. This circular book recreates the waning and waxing of the moon cycle, similar to a lunar calendar. The book cover is etched with the dates of every full moon I spent in the United States, away from my family. It also includes a well-known Chinese poem Water Melody by Su Shi. Written in 1076, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the poem expresses Su Shi’s homesickness. It moves from yearning for reunion to finding solace in the shared beauty of the moon, even across distances.

It has been my family tradition to celebrate birthdays according to the lunar calendar, so it wasn’t until I moved abroad that I began to celebrate my birthday according to the Gregorian calendar, because I did not want to explain why I need a different calendar from everyone else. Just as I switched to a new language and a new name that I created myself, I even changed the way I counted the days.

But the moon remains a sacred symbol to me. The Chinese folklore of Chang’e flying to the moon has made the moon a symbol of longing for reunion since ancient times. Whenever I see a full moon while abroad, I can not help but feel a wave of longing for my family mixed with a sense of guilt, something I would never verbalize to them.

There is a famous story that Japanese writer Natsume Soseki suggested that the English phrase I love you should be translated into Japanese as the moon is beautiful tonight, isn’t it? Because it's unnatural for them to express such profound feelings directly. Instead, it's conveyed by the shared attention to a fleeting moment, by the suggestion between the words, the desire to share this moment with someone you love. I want this book to be the embodiment of my longing, a shared moment across distance.

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jo.alwaysblue@gmail.com