Naturally, harmony and beauty are simply there—without creed; toxicity and pathology, too, can be savored, not shunned. Upon the bed of chaos, branches sprout; dragons and insects shift with the times, in wild, offbeat rhythms, their forms fragmented. They summon childlike wonder, for humans and nature have always shared the same pillow—weaving dreams together.

Miao’s works aim to evoke people’s resonance with nature, seeking the primal spirit within landscapes and local traditional cultures. Traversing through these inspirations, he allows them to ferment into new possibilities. Like plants growing, art requires a certain indulgence; artists must discover and savor the unique joys of this world. Neither avoiding the world nor becoming entangled in its mundane affairs, he chooses instead to wander in between. Without seeking dominance, we still have our place within nature. Miao creates immersive, site-specific installations and performances that invite reflection and transformation. He works primarily with sound to capture the subtle, ephemeral activities of ecosystems—from the delicate vibrations of microorganisms to the dynamic rhythms of lakes and trees and…

Miao is an MFA graduate from the School of Visual Arts in New York. His work has been featured in major exhibitions and residencies in China and abroad, including the 9th BiCity Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture in Shenzhen (2022), Nature+ Artist Residency at Thousand Island Lake (2022), PLAN8 residencies in Changsha and Danba, the Swatch Art Peace Hotel Artist Residency (2025), the Arte Laguna Prize Exhibition in Venice (2024), and multiple shows in New York City.
Miao has also received multiple film award nominations for Water Monkey, along with earlier honors such as the Graphis Design Annual Merit Award (2015) and International Graphic Competition Felicity Project (2010).

During the AiR 351 residency, Miao intends to expand a sound-based project that invites playful, empathic dialogue with microorganisms. Using biosensors to capture microbial signals and translate them into immersive, evolving soundscapes, he will create participatory “jam sessions” that bring audiences into sensory contact with these invisible life forms. The residency will allow him to combine lab-based research with site-responsive experimentation, working closely with local professionals and artists to shape the piece through cross-disciplinary workshops. His goal is to foster emotional connection to overlooked ecologies while developing the work as a living ecosystem of relationships between people, place, and microbial life.