Times Square Transformed into a Global Spectacle with Yuge Zhou's 'Trampoline Color Exercise'

For three minutes each night throughout June, the bustling heart of New York City's Times Square is being transformed into a mesmerizing digital art installation. Yuge Zhou's "Trampoline Color Exercise" is captivating audiences with its vibrant display of gymnasts in motion, projected across 92 electronic billboards.

A Mesmerizing Display of Global Unity

"Trampoline Color Exercise" is a monumental digital video collage by Chicago-based artist Yuge Zhou. The work features hundreds of gymnasts performing flips and twists on a gridded background of pink trampolines. Captured from a bird's-eye view, their movements are abstracted into undulating ripples of color, creating a hypnotic visual experience.

• Artist: Yuge Zhou
• Work: Trampoline Color Exercise
• Location: Times Square, New York City
• Duration: Nightly at 11:57 p.m. through June 30
• Presented by: Times Square Arts and artnet

Exploring Themes of Allegiance and Globalization

Zhou, who was born in China and now resides in the Midwest, often explores themes of separation, loyalty, and cultural contrasts in her work. For "Trampoline Color Exercise," she draws from archival Olympic footage, collaging gymnasts in primary colors to symbolize national flags and reflect the complexities of global politics and allegiance.

"The work is a celebration of globalization and a reflection on allegiance," Zhou stated. "It was created over the past few years amid intense political and international divisions, and now it feels especially timely."

The installation uses a carefully selected palette of primary colors and the uniformity of movement to evoke a meditative rhythm, mirroring humanity's desire for control, symmetry, and perfection.

A Public Art Spectacle

Co-presented by Times Square Arts and artnet, "Trampoline Color Exercise" is part of Times Square Arts’ Midnight Moment series, the city’s largest public art program. This series transforms the iconic electronic billboards into a synchronized gallery space for contemporary art.

"Trampoline Color Exercise is playful, accessible and infinitely evolving—much like Times Square itself—with unassuming layers of cross-cultural references which feel especially relevant to this contemporary moment," said Jean Cooney, director of Times Square Arts. The three-minute piece is screened every night between 11:57 p.m. and midnight.

Sources

• Across 92 Screens in Times Square, Yuge Zhou's 'Trampoline Color Exercise' Celebrates Global Unity — Colossal, Colossal.
• Video Artist Yuge Zhou Immerses Times Square With ‘Visual Poetry’, Artnet News.
• For Three Minutes a Night, Times Square Becomes a Dreamscape, ourtownny.com.