Born in 1989, Bolun (Brent) Shen has worked as an independent artist consciously for 11 years. With a background from the Communication University of China, studying Communication and Journalism, he started off his artistic career after interviewing 1000 people in China.
“I just graduated from university, and I had a lot of questions,” Shen explained “I filmed around 1000 people at the time, and the interviews usually start with the interviewees asking a question to the camera (me), and we would start our conversation based on their questions.” The 1000 questions project ( 4 hours and 51 minutes) is currently presented as a multi-channel video on YouTube.
This keystone project introduced Shen to the wonderland of becoming a professional performance artist. “By random chance, I was invited to Helsinki Festival as a young artist under the age of 25 in Finland”, stating that being a part of the largest art festival in the Nordic countries in 2015 was when he consciously started his artistic career.
From his residency at By Art Matters in Hangzhou, to Pro Helvetia in Switzerland, to Singapore Art Museum in Singapore, and to his most current residency at MacDowell in the States, Shen’s artworks often require the participation of the public.
He sets his own stage, and whether he is in the centre of the stage or not, the performance piece would evoke conversations and insights into the lack or the presence of their own rights, and shine light onto the ultimate possibilities within societies.
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“I thought film was the highest form of media. However, film lacks one thing, which is that your audience cannot be a part of your work,” Shen introduced himself proudly as an independent performance artist.
Engagement is exactly what Shen has been developing his artworks around since 2015.
See You in My Dreams (2019) was a collaborative artwork created between The Hinterlands (Detroit, US) and Shen (Beijing, China), reading local news about each other’s country as the counterparty falls asleep.
Would you allow me to be Swiss (2022) was created during his residency at Pro Helvetia – a performance inviting the audience to participate in the decision-making process on whether Shen (the performer) would be granted a “Swiss citizenship.”
“I don’t care for works that purely express personal emotions — personal emotions only take on special meaning when expressed in the context of social issues and a broader framework,” says Shen.
Last year, Shen, under the support of Goethe-Institut Beijing & Shanghai, created Game Play (2025). In this performance, the artist invites audiences to role-play a part within the art ecosystem to understand how it is continuously reshaped by both individual actions and the structure itself.
As the dots were continuously connected, public engagement and social issues began to formulate a statement within the artist’s resume — The petition of nothing.
Created during his residency at MacDowell earlier this year, Shen submitted a formal warrant article to the 2026 Town Meeting in Peterborough (New Hampshire) proposing the institutionalisation of a two-minute suspension of administrative time filled with silence for all future annual meetings.
This all started with a serendipitous meeting Shen encountered during the very beginning of his residency.
“By the time, I had already decided not to pursue my original residency proposal because of the location of the residency”, says Shen, explaining that the town of Peterborough, New Hampshire, was in the middle of nowhere. “I was quite anxious to be honest, but I was like, let’s just explore and see.”
Perhaps that’s how he manifested the causal meeting of one of the select board members of the town.
“I was walking from my studio to the Main Hall kitchen, and a random lady said hi to me”, Shen recalls his first encounter with Bonnie Tucker, who serves the select board in the town of Peterborough along with two other members.
“We just started talking because she wanted to know what I was doing at MacDowell. She only introduced herself after we’d talked for an hour or so.”
As Shen began to learn more about the town of Peterborough through Ms Tucker, he also started his own research online.
“All six states in New England had direct democracy, which is not a foreign concept to me since I had my residency in Switzerland. What it means is that all the townies are able to vote and discuss what happens next in their town.”
Fascinated by this democratic process, Shen decided to pursue his project around it.
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“I quickly realised all town meetings in New England take place during spring. It was late winter and early spring when I was there, so the timing worked perfectly”, Shen shines with excitement.
“I was advised not to petition something specific, but I wanted to be a part of the process”, as he elaborates more about the birth of his project – The Petition of Nothing. Petitioning for two minutes of silence during town meetings was a symbolic gesture. A symbolic gesture expressing both the curiosity for the democracy process and an outsider’s respect for the town’s autonomy.
Shen began his journey of collecting signatures for his proposal. He fell short at the town’s Foreign Policy Forum, despite being an invited participant and then during his birthday celebrations. “I didn’t know how to do this in the beginning,” He admitted, “I was really scared I would appear opportunistic.”
The fear quickly fizzled out as Shen witnessed the town’s civic engagement during a shivering Sunday. The townies were protesting on the streets. As courages would encourage one another, Shen was able to collect his first six signatures.
Then he went to bookstores, churches, and as the locals invited him into their communities, Shen was not only able to collect 35 signatures but was also able to find a guy who was willing to submit the petition on his behalf.
Since submitting the petition, Article 22 ( The Petition of Nothing) had been openly talked about on March.3rd during the Select Board Meeting, and on April 7th during the Deliberate Session. It was voted 2-1 during the Select Board Meeting, with the select board’s chair, Tyler Wand, opposing the petition.
“This is performance art. This was a gentleman who was interested in witnessing the democratic process. So a Nay vote is just as important as a Yea vote in the democratic process,” explaining his opposing vote. “So that’s your performance?” The statement was quickly followed by a question from the participants.
“The process is important because this Petition of Nothing can stir a conversation, a conversation that people in your community might not have had weren’t for the petition”, Shen shared his outlook, “The performance itself is important whether or not the petition gets passed.”
During the debate at the Deliberate Session on April 7th, more residents shared their opinions on the petition. Carol Kraus, who is in favour of the petition, said, “I think he [Shen] is jealous of us, that we can have a town meeting. It’s only two minutes, I don’t think it’s going to change anything.”
One of the residents who opposes the petition, Robert Hirschey, commented, “The fellow who made the motion perhaps doesn’t understand the democratic process because the democratic process is not silent.”
This petition will be voted on by the people of Peterborough on May 12th 2026.
