ONE THUMB WONDER
Sophie Xiao Yue Zhou
trash-trinkets, thread, gum, fake tattoo skin, foam
2026
"I knew that I wanted to make an artwork that would read like a book – a small study of what people are using and consuming in Chippendale. To do that, I took to the neighbouring streets to find trash-trinkets on the floor. The process was exhilarating. I was at the whims of whatever trash-trinkets I could find. The possibility of something and nothing was something I had to be okay with while making this piece.
ONE THUMB WONDER is a non-functional light bulb made within two days, from Friday, 10th of April 2026 to Saturday, 11th of April 2026. It is completely made out of trash-trinkets sourced from Chippendale apart from the inner layer, first outer layer, the thread used to sew the box, and the two pieces of gum that I chewed during the residency. The inner layer is made of foam to give the box volume, and the first outer layer is fake tattoo skin that I sewed together to make the box. The second layer are all the things that I found during the two days I was walking around the neighbouring streets of Puzzle Gallery. I kind of lucked out with what I found. Everything is in its original condition, meaning nothing has been cleaned or tampered with, except for the soy sauce bottle that I stuffed with tiny bits of soil and sticks. It was a fun challenge to create an artwork and engage in a process so heavily reliant on people dumping ‘trash’ on the floor, where I had to keep up with how mutable and tangential the piece could be each day."
Sophie Xiao Yue Zhou
trash-trinkets, thread, gum, fake tattoo skin, foam
2026
"I knew that I wanted to make an artwork that would read like a book – a small study of what people are using and consuming in Chippendale. To do that, I took to the neighbouring streets to find trash-trinkets on the floor. The process was exhilarating. I was at the whims of whatever trash-trinkets I could find. The possibility of something and nothing was something I had to be okay with while making this piece.
ONE THUMB WONDER is a non-functional light bulb made within two days, from Friday, 10th of April 2026 to Saturday, 11th of April 2026. It is completely made out of trash-trinkets sourced from Chippendale apart from the inner layer, first outer layer, the thread used to sew the box, and the two pieces of gum that I chewed during the residency. The inner layer is made of foam to give the box volume, and the first outer layer is fake tattoo skin that I sewed together to make the box. The second layer are all the things that I found during the two days I was walking around the neighbouring streets of Puzzle Gallery. I kind of lucked out with what I found. Everything is in its original condition, meaning nothing has been cleaned or tampered with, except for the soy sauce bottle that I stuffed with tiny bits of soil and sticks. It was a fun challenge to create an artwork and engage in a process so heavily reliant on people dumping ‘trash’ on the floor, where I had to keep up with how mutable and tangential the piece could be each day."
Sophie Xiao Yue Zhou is a Cantonese-Australian multidisciplinary artist living on Dharug Land. Sophie’s artworks have been shown in Voiceworks, Verge Gallery, Pari, and ACE Parramatta. They are currently working on a comic book.