税源
Yuan Shui (Water)
Yuan Shui is an artist working across animation,
games, and socially engaged experiential projects.
Her practice focuses on uncovering
the hidden structures
embedded in everyday life and the subtle relationships
between people and their material environments.
Moving fluidly between animation, visual imagery,
performative actions, and game design, she seeks
to disrupt conventional narrative frameworks
and construct open-ended, profound experiences
through the interplay of intuition and form.
In recent years, she has expanded her focus
from image-making to embodied storytelling
and game mechanics design, aiming to construct
experiential spaces in the real world that oscillate
between performance art and philosophical reflection.
Her creative practice unfolds like a map
marked with circles, stitching a path
between doubt and reconstruction
toward a reversed and reimagined world.
As an animation director, her notable works include
Broken Potato (2021),
AnyMotion OpenCall (2023),
Burger Order: Not Satisfied, Redo (2024).
In 2023, she directed the animated music video
for Chris Lee’s song “The Ostrich Has Run Away,”
which received widespread praise across platforms
with millions of views on its release day.
Her work has been featured in several
prestigious international festivals,
including the Kaboom Animation Film Festival (Netherlands),
Montreal International Animation Film Festival (Canada),
StopTrik International Animation Film Festival (Slovenia),
IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival (Bulgaria),
The Norwegian Short Film Festival (Norway)
and Feinaki Animation Week (Beijing).
Education
China Academy of Art (2017-2021) Majior in Animation
Screenings
2021-
Feinaki Beijing Animation Week , China
1st The West Lake International Animation Festival, China
HiShorts!Film Festival, China
Youth Image, China
2022 -
19th IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival, Bulgaria
Internationale Kurzfilmwoche Regensburg, Germany
the Short Movie Club Film Festival "NEFILTRAVANAE KINO", Russia
HIFF - HALO International Film Festiva, Russial
The Norwegian ShortFilm Festival, Norway
ANIMART Festival,Greece
FIRST International Film Festival , China
Shanghai International Short Week, China
SPARKING STARS PROGRAM, China
StopTrik International Animation Festival, Slovenia
Montreal International Animation Film Festival, Canada
Amarcort Film Festival， Italy
CineCina Film Festival, USA
2023 -
Dunhuang Animation Festival,China
Aldridge UTC Film Festival, England
Make Art No Fear ShortFilm Festival
Feinaki Beijing Animation Week , China
2024 -
FIRST International Film Festival, China
The Nearby film independent international festival, China
Vita International Film Festival, China
Feinaki Beijing Animation Week , China
2025 - Kaboom Animation Festival, Netherlands
Chinese film fesivalt Hamburg,Germany
Awards
2021-
Golden Monkey Award for Potential Animation,
China International Cartoon & Animation Festival
Experimental Innovation Award Nomination,
Animation Awards Beijing Film Academy
Special Mention, Belarus Short Film Club
2022-
Student Animation Award,the 17th Athens Animfest
Special Mention, Belarus Short Film Club
Best Short Film, Shanghai International Short Film Week
Annual Animated Film, Sohu Green Curtain Project
2023-
Special Mention, Aldrich UTC Film Festival
Best Animated Short Film, Make Art No Fear Short Film Festival
2024-
Annual Surprise Short Film, Vita International Film Festival
Nomination for Best Commercial Animation
Xiamen International Animation Festival
Exhibitions
2019- Picnic Art Festival, Shanghai
2020- Singularity Art Festival, Guangzhou
2022-
Tower Illustration Festival, Chengdu, Limit Art Museum
Shining Stars Project, Hangzhou, T·MUSEUM
“Between Intervals” 6+1 Animation Group Exhibition, Beijing, YanBooks Bookstore
NOWNESS Talents - FIRST FRAME, Shanghai, Tank Shanghai
2023-
abC Art Book Fair, Queer Touch Improv “Inter-Contacts,” Shanghai, MacM Museum
“Apartment Issues” - Jian’an Apartment “Bottom-Up Amendments,” Shanghai
CILENS Chinese Film Festival Open-Air Screening, Berlin, ZK/U
Inter-Youth Group Painting Exhibition, Shanghai, West Bund Museum
Residency
2024-
Artist Residency Project: “How to Be an Audience”,
Hangzhou，BY ART MATTERS Art Museum