Zhu:
I've always felt that my name is closely tied to what I do. Throughout my life, my personality, my feelings, and my career all seem to have been guided by my name — Guanhai (literally “seeing the sea”). I think making art is a lot like seeing the sea.

It’s both concrete and endless, always in motion, constantly shifting backwards. It’s both heavy and light at the same time. I’m just standing there, watching — that’s exactly how creating art feels to me.

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Guest:
Don’t you feel like diving in?

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Zhu:
I think I’m scared.

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Guest:
You just mentioned that artists can feel fearful if they become too immersed in their own work.

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Zhu:
Yes, I don’t actively seek to immerse myself in it. In fact, I feel like keeping some distance allows me to create better work. But perhaps, by nature, I’m inclined to go into it. Still, when I try to describe the process, I say "I'm scared" — that sense of being close yet detached, a state of fear mixed with excitement, like a contradictory challenge to myself.

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Host:
That’s a question we could ask any artist — do you also feel like you get lost in your own work?

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Guest:
I think creating and living are completely intertwined; there's no need to separate them. It comes from the loneliness of life — it may not be directly related to seeing the sea, but it’s tied to a sense of layered time.

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Guest:
The Guan in your name makes me think of a process of repeated watching — a kind of sustained observation, with a sense of “reputation” or “movement,” like looking back on the past.

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Zhu:
Yes, that act of seeing is ongoing. But for those who don't understand it, it can be frightening. Why? Not because there's anything wrong with the work itself, but because during the creative process, I’m constantly in a state of fear. I know what this process might bring, but it still feels like jumping into the sea — terrifying, yet unavoidable.

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For example, I love weightlifting — doing the heaviest squats. Let’s say 170 kg — that’s my limit, something I can only manage once. Before taking on that weight, I feel an intense fear because it’s so heavy. But at the same time, I know I have to face it. That feeling of fear is very much like creating art — I’m aware of the weight and difficulty of the process, but I still choose to dive into it.

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Guest:
Art is like the deep sea.

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Zhu:
Exactly. It’s bottomless.

​Notes: The artist intends a sense of passive perception here, hence the use of "seeing the sea" rather than "watching the sea."