‘In Parallel’ draws distinction between twins’ artistic visions

Before they could speak, Cici and Alisa Zou drew.

“When they were very, very young, like 2 years old, they just drew everything,” their mother, Grace Zou, said through the translation of art teacher Wen Yu.

In their grandparents’ kitchen in Jilin, China, the identical twins would sketch vegetables while dinner was cooking. During family gatherings, relatives challenged them to draw portraits enhanced with details like a scarf, a different pose, or a new expression.

When it came to art, “They definitely had the passion and interest,” Zou said.

The twins, who moved to Acton at age 9 and are now 17, have turned their childhood instincts into a burgeoning artistic career shaped by immigration, observation, and two remarkably different ways of seeing the world.

Though they share the same classes, interests, and upbringing, the sisters describe their artwork as profoundly unique.

“A lot of people think twins are basically the same people,” Cici said, “but that’s actually not true.”

The sisters, both students at St. Mark’s School, are getting a chance to show those differences publicly with the opening of “In Parallel,” a joint exhibition at Artscape at Bradford Mill that features five years of their artwork.

Two different styles

The exhibit explores how two people raised side by side can still develop entirely distinct artistic voices.

Cici said she hoped “people can take away that we’re two very different individuals” who “see the world completely differently despite our similar experiences in life.”

She gravitates toward bold colors, layered compositions, and occasionally physical materials. One recent piece combined watercolor and gouache with real and sculpted leaves extending off the canvas. 

“She’s always trying to make sense of the story,” Yu said. “She’s more practical in a way.”

Alisa’s work, meanwhile, often focuses on mood and emotional atmosphere. Yu pointed to a recent animation about a trapped wolf as one example.

“You got touched by the work, by the emotion inside of this piece,” Yu said. “She is more attentive to the nuance of the shifts of emotions.” 

Alisa said she has recently enjoyed working in a more spontaneous style, including drawing in permanent marker without first sketching in pencil.

“There’s something really magical in it,” she said. “You can also make a mistake, but it’s also part of the process.”

Even their sketchbooks reveal different instincts. Sitting together on trips, the twins often draw the same locations while noticing entirely different details.

Alisa grasps “little moments in life that sometimes I just don’t notice,” Cici said.

Art as communication

The twins’ transition from Jilin to Acton was not easy. Starting third grade without speaking fluent English, Cici and Alisa struggled to communicate with their classmates. 

“I feel like I could best express myself in art class,” Cici said. “That’s the time where all the kids would hover around me and try to talk to me about how I did the art.”

For Alisa, art was a link with familiarity after the move. The twins began taking classes with a Chinese teacher, which “kind of brought a sense of home here,” she said.

Encouraged by the steadfast support of their mother, the development of the sisters’ work blends those Acton influences with elements of their Chinese heritage. Both sisters studied traditional calligraphy growing up; Yu sees traces of that training in the way they compose images.

“There are lots of blank spaces,” Yu said. “That’s a very authentic traditional Chinese aesthetic.”

‘With fresh eyes’

Outside the studio, the twins also play tennis and piano. But art remains woven into nearly every part of their lives.

Both have become interested in science communication through art, which led to their creating two children’s picture books that explain ocean acidification.

For Yu, the ArtScape exhibit reaches beyond a display of technical skill.

“I hope people can see how young people explore the world from a different perspective,” she said, “how they see the world with fresh eyes.”

“In Parallel” runs at ArtScape, 43 Bradford Street, until July 3.