Jiayi "Jane" Zhou
Jiayi Zhou is a deaf artist from Shanghai, China, who lost her hearing when she was only three days old. She graduated from Gallaudet University with a degree in graphic design and later received a World Deaf Leadership Scholarship in 2008.
When Jiayi wanted to eat an apple but did not know how to ask for it and her parents struggled to deduct their daughter's wishes, her mother encouraged her daughter to draw her desires. Jiayi drew the apple. Drawing thus becam
e the primary mode of communication between Jiayi and her family. Over time, the color pencils and paper and the colors, lines and shapes they produced evolved from tools for expressing desire to tools for expressing feelings, conveying love and creating and celebrating beauty.
Her artwork often employs fish because, like water creatures, deaf people don't need to hear or speak and yet experience completely full lives. Zhou's goal is to promote deaf culture in both China and other countries through her artistic form.