Labyrinth

When the French poet Comte de Lautréamont wrote of something being “as beautiful as the chance encounter of a sewing machine and an umbrella on a dissecting table,” he could hardly have imagined that this exquisite metaphor would also describe the creative encounter between Damien Dufresne and WuYi, two artists brought together across countries and cultures.

One comes from the romantic and uninhibited France, the other from Xiapu, China; one brings a fervent sensitivity to the present, the other a youthful and composed technical rationality. Yet when it comes to using two-dimensional imagery to create spaces beyond reality, the two arrive at the same place by different paths, meeting in a surreal dream.

If Damien evokes the inner roles of the soul through the journey of color in makeup, extending the story from France to Korea, China, and Cambodia before returning once again to Shanghai,
WuYi begins with fashion photography, building a stage for these roles and creating a sense of spatial depth.

Damien is fascinated by Eastern faces; WuYi grew up among them. Between the inside and outside of the face, the two artists lead us together into a labyrinthine landscape.

WuYi, Damien Dufresne