Dongyan Chen

Statement

Dongyan Chen is a multidisciplinary artist currently based in Singapore. Chen received a Bachelor of Fine Art (Hons) from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, London, United Kingdom (2018), her work has been presented in several exhibitions in London, Shanghai, Berlin, and Melbourne.

Chen is interested in the potential of texts, images, and sounds and how these might work together in montages, as a way to construct fictional stories that concern different topics. The role languages play in our daily lives is an important element in Chen’s work. Being bilingual, she often uses both Mandarin and English texts in her work. Previously, her practice has been concerned with automatic writing, which later ignited her interest in exploring the relationship between languages and the human mind. Her artistic objective is to construct immersive art experiences that are able to engage audiences on a deep level. Drawn particularly to sound and video, she aims to create an experience that can lead the audience into a dream-like state, provoking self-revelation.

GlogauAIR Project

I would like to continue my current project ‘FACTORY’ during my time in GlogauAIR. It was first developed when I did the residency at SomoS Art House from April to June 2022 and was exhibited at the group exhibition ‘PRESSURE DROP’, which was also part of the 48 hours Neukölln Art Festival.

‘FACTORY’ is a project I developed from my illustration series ‘100 Ideas of Hands’ and the video work ‘Study of Hands’, both inspired by the Dunhuang Buddhist art in China. By analysing and reconstructing the traditional Chinese and European art elements, combined with my own personal experiences and interpretations, ‘FACTORY’ is a bricolage that told a story about a fictional historical laboratory in an idiosyncratic narrative form. It also involved my interests in juxtaposing and combining the ancient arts with modern technologies, such as video games and social media elements.

Currently, I’m still in the progress of making more works around the story of ‘FACTORY’, and I would like to continue exploring more possibilities between Chinese and European art, as well as ancient and contemporary art.

CV Summary

EDUCATION

• 2015-2018 BA(Hons) Fine Art, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, London, United Kingdom
• 2017 Erasmus+ Exchange Programme, École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Nantes Métropole, Nantes, France
• 2014-2015 Foundation Diploma in Art & Design, University of the Arts London, London, United Kingdom

EXHIBITION

• 2022 Pressure Drop, SomoS Art House, Berlin, Germany
• 2022 虚实之间 In Between, L&W Home, Changde, China
• 2022 Anonymous Drawings 2022, GALERIE IM KÖRNERPARK, Berlin, Germany
• 2022 Night, Night!, L&W Home, Changde, China
• 2021 未来已来 The Future Has Come , Premium Art 艺葭文化中心, Shanghai, China
• 2021 Shanghai Young Art Fair – Promising Future, Shanghai, China
• 2021 Graduates Art Fair (Wuhan) 2021, Wuhan, China
• 2021 双向介入 Bidirectional Intervention, Jin Chuang Art Space 锦创艺术空间, Nanjing, China
• 2021 Across Pieces of Sky,Trocadero Art Space, Melbourne, Australia
• 2020 ACCIDENTING, CSSA-Goldsmiths International Youth Art & Design Exhibition 2020 Across the Haze, Trocadero Art Space, Melbourne, Australia
• 2019 Orphaned Memories, SomoS, Berlin, Germany
• 2018 Distilled Revery, Untitled Space, Shanghai, China
• 2018 Déjà Vu, Freud Museum London, London, UK
• 2018 Show ONE, Central Saint Martins, London, UK
• 2018 The Flow of Nature, City University of London, London, UK
• 2018 FORMS, LCC SU Gallery Space, London, UK
• 2017 The Hidden Messages, Anise Gallery, London, UK
• 2015 Those Who Go East, White Conduit Projects, London, UK

Gallery