Connie Zheng's Cartographic Practice Challenges Historical Narratives Through Speculative Maps
Connie Zheng produces maps grounded in research that question established historical accounts. Her 2023 piece, 'How To Make a Golden State,' spans nearly three meters on rice paper and emphasizes the role of Asian farmworkers in California's agricultural history. This map stands out as the sole Asian American creation among approximately 60 in the digitized David Rumsey Map Collection at Stanford University. Zheng's recent projects include 'Strawberry Fields Forever' (2024) and 'As It Is: Nothing Lasts Forever' (2025). Additionally, her 'Revolutionary Planting Calendar' (2025) links flora to liberation movements and is showcased in 'Manifesto of Spring' at the National Asian Culture Center in Gwangju until February 22. Based in Berkeley, she holds an MFA from UC and is currently pursuing a PhD in visual studies.
Key facts
- Connie Zheng's 'How To Make a Golden State' (2023) is the only Asian American-drawn map among approximately 60 California maps in Stanford University's David Rumsey Map Collection
- Zheng's maps highlight contributions of East Asian, South Asian, and Southeast Asian farmworkers to California's agricultural development since the late 1800s
- 'Revolutionary Planting Calendar' (2025) appears in 'Manifesto of Spring' at National Asian Culture Center in Gwangju through February 22
- Zheng's earlier film 'The Lonely Age' (2019) was acquired by the Kadist collection
- Her seed-focused projects include 'Seed Almanac' (2019–) with live cyanobacteria colonies and 'Routes/Roots' (2021) mapping global food plant migration
- Zheng discovered through research that many major organized labor actions and farm strikes in California were led by Asian workers
- She moved to the US in 1993 at age five after being born in Luoyang, China
- Zheng is currently pursuing a PhD in visual studies while maintaining a handcrafted artistic practice
Entities
Artists
- Connie Zheng
- Walt Whitman
- Alfred Korzybski
- Mao
- Lenin
Institutions
- Stanford University
- David Rumsey Map Collection
- University of California
- Kadist collection
- Ilham Gallery
- National Asian Culture Center
- ArtReview Asia
- New York Stock Exchange
Locations
- Berkeley
- California
- United States
- Los Angeles
- San Bernardino Basin
- Fresno
- Watsonville
- Pajaro Valley
- Bay Area
- Luoyang
- China
- Fuzhou
- Kuala Lumpur
- Malaysia
- Gwangju
- Palestine
- US-Mexico border
- Haight-Ashbury