Lu Yang’s first solo exhibition in the United Kingdom, titled ‘LuYang: NetiNeti’, has opened at the Zabludowicz Collection, London, on view through 12 February, 2023.
The title LuYang NetiNeti incorporates the Sanskrit expression ‘neti neti’, meaning ‘neither this, nor that’. The Main Hall focuses on the artist’s own avatar, DOKU, created using CGI animation and by motion-tracking the movements of dancers. The six versions of DOKU that exist to date correspond to the six paths of Buddhist reincarnation: Hell, Heaven, Hungry Ghost, Animal, Asura and Human.
DOKU – Binary conflicts invert illusions is a new video commissioned by the Zabludowicz Collection. It features the characters Heaven and Hell engaged in a dance on a yin yang symbol, leading to the formation of a new hybrid DOKU character, the binary god. Presented on a large screen on the altar, DOKU the Self follows a version of Lu Yang on a passenger aeroplane moving through numerous states of perception. The narrator contemplates the concepts of reincarnation, consciousness, and our understanding of ‘the self’.
The Back Gallery has been transformed into an interactive games arcade, with the ambitious Material World Knight project at its centre. Characters from Lu Yang’s earlier works appear, accompanying you on a philosophical quest through techno-psychedelic realms. The Middle Gallery screening room presents a selection of Lu Yang’s key video works, made in collaboration with J-pop idols, music producers and scientists.
Entertaining, thought-provoking and sometimes grotesque, Lu Yang’s fantastic spaces don’t shy away from exploring human mortality and the nature of reality itself.
