Weiyu Dou
The artist behind this year’s cover art, Weiyu Dou, masterfully entwines rich emotion and complex narratives into her work. Dou’s practice is, above all, personal, as she demonstrates a unique self-understanding that propels the way she communicates through creative pursuits.
Weiyu Dou.
Dou discovered her artistic nature in school when she would sketch on desks and write stories that her classmates passed around to read. Her creativity often erupted from an innate need to express herself in reaction to moments shared with her classmates and resulting feelings. Her artistic activity is instinctual, the form of self-expression that feels most natural.
Dou went on to study Chinese painting and calligraphy at the Luxun Academy of Art in China. She also had the opportunity to briefly immerse herself in a different type of painting at Hongik University in South Korea. More recently, Dou has been studying at London’s Royal College of Art in an Art and Humanities research program. She credits her studies as the genesis for the various threads of inspiration in her work, from the creations of Southern Song Dynasty monk Mu Xi to the support of a particular RCA professor who encouraged her to dive deeper into her writing and explore fantasies within cross-cultural romantic relationships.
Mountains and Valley do not meet, 2023. Canvas, sand, stone, 80 x 120 cm. Photo © Weiyu Dou, 2023.
Louis Stood in the Middle of Sea 1, 2022. Water dry painting tool, rock colour on hemp paper, covered with silk, 130 x 97cm. Photo © Weiyu Dou, 2022.
Regarding the latter, Dou describes “curious emotional encounters” that affect her artwork, specifically “shattered tales of love.” She furthers that the “geography” of her own life responds to experiences of emotional intensity, loss, pain, and “farewells,” all of which compel her to express herself creatively. Dou’s practice is, therefore, not motivated by pursuits aside from self-expression, especially as she does not work on her art full-time. Art, for Dou, is individualised rather than produced for accolades or institutions. She views herself as part of a generation exploring the power of creation to process personal feelings or guide themselves through “the rifts in the canyons of life.” In her own words, “love and creation intertwine, bestowing upon individuals a sense of fulfilment, stability, and clarity.”
Still from Euarchonta Of Love, 2020. Performance piece. Photo © Weiyu Dou, 2020.
The cover artwork for this year’s print edition of MADE IN BED features Dou’s performance piece In Search of the Bamboo Grove (2020). Dou was born in Shenyang, in northern China, a cold region where bamboo cannot survive. Yet, growing up, Dou found herself frequently depicting the elusive plant in her traditional Chinese painting studies, as bamboo served as a symbol for China itself. The plant’s absence, amplified by Dou’s intense sketching of bamboo over this period, led her to question the concept of bamboo as part of Chinese cultural identity – how could it be so when she had never personally witnessed it? Even walking the streets, Dou noticed people trying to recreate bamboo synthetically, attempting to channel its perceived ideal of beauty and elegance into their homes.
In Search of Bamboo Grove, 2020. Photo © Weiyu Dou, 2023.
Dou recalls this experience in In Search of the Bamboo Grove, which she performed in Beijing’s Olympic Forest Park on a stormy day. She soaked rice paper in water and draped it over her body, calling forth age-old Chinese practices. The performance exposed Dou to the elements, symbolically conveying the ancient torture practice of “Rain Soaked Plum Bottoms,” in which prisoners’ faces were covered with layers of wet rice paper. Once the sculpture of her body was created, Dou buried it in the black soil of her hometown and observed as it weathered and broke down. It represented a version of herself, searching for regeneration in an emotionally fraught place. It also, of course, evoked her search for a natural bamboo grove.
In Search of Bamboo Grove, 2020. Photo © Weiyu Dou, 2023.
More recently, as Dou spends more time in London, she spends her time visiting cemeteries around the city, probing the relationship between life and death. A whirlwind chance encounter with a man from the South Seas whom Dou may never see again left her with a profound sense of sadness. It led her to these graveyards, where she contemplates different forms of death, some small, some large.
She also subconsciously takes photos of corners of London that remind her of Singapore, such as Canary Wharf, the Royal Docks, and Tower Bridge. Wandering London and immersing herself in its details feels like a privilege to Dou, granted by time and a richly intricate city. She notes, “it’s become the malady that accompanies me in the night...I’m diligently delving into these dreams, this geographically influenced longing and emotion, expressing them through photography and painting.” In these ventures, Dou is still guided by her instincts, allowing them to manifest artistically in whichever way she sees fit.
ADAM'S Dream. Shell, lightless heat bulb, river sand, sea sand. Size variable. Beaconsfield Gallery, London, UK. Photo © Weiyu Dou, 2023.
Selected Exhibitions:
Group Show
2023
22 June – 1 July - EARTHWISE- An exhibition, event and publication series created by PhD students from the School of Arts & Humanities- Beaconsfield Gallery,London
2023 INNER WORKING - Cooke Latham Gallery London UK
Many thanks to Weiyu Dou for allowing her artwork to adorn MADE IN BED’s REGENERATION online issue.
To learn more about Weiyu Dou’s practice, read her interview with Runqui Peng (Interviews Co-Editor, 2022-3), or visit her website or Instagram.
Gabriella Hetu
Emerging Artist Co-Editor, MADE IN BED