wei
wei is an artist from Providence, U.S.A
wei is one of ArtConnect’s Artists to Watch '21.
As an interdisciplinary artist, wei works with print media, video, sound, design, and performance to render the experience of otherness. Mapping queerness and foreignness are the often topics he researches and expresses. He investigates the in-betweenness in order to trace the imprints and contextualize the present.
Naz Cuguoğlu
Curator
“wei’s works use dark humor both as a strategy for survival and as a creative methodology. Using print media, video, sound, design, and performance, he builds narratives about the experience of the other — the so-called aliens (legal or illegal). Making use of in-between spaces and the excess, wei highlights how materials could be queered to create a timeline that is not linear but rather cyclical.”
ArtConnect asked the winning artists to share with us a glimpse into their creative life to get a sense of their personal inspiration and artistic process.
How did you get started as an artist?
I went to an art school and got a more design-focused BFA (now pursuing my MFA at Rhode Island School of Design), but it wasn’t until I started working with artists with multiple identities like Futurefarmers (San Francisco Artist Collective) that I began to see a path of practicing as a multidisciplinary artist that is not confined to any particular mediums.
How would you describe your artistic approach?
My approach to creating is through the lens of being an alien and queer in unfamiliar environments and given spaces. All of my projects are process-based and ordinarily personal and emotionally charged. Highlighting the integrity of my chosen materials and sources of information are a big part of my creative process, especially when most of the materials are commonly considered secondary and ephemeral.
wei’s studio
Where do you look for sources of inspiration?
I draw inspiration from daily life by just living, reading, listening, talking, thinking, making, and being part of my communities.
What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced as an artist?
The biggest challenges might come down to age-related or experience-related factors. Not finding your audiences and communities to generate conversation is challenging. I wish I understood and valued my work and creative process more when I first started making art.
wei working in his studio
Describe a typical day in the studio or where you make your work.
Since my projects are process-based, a written plan with sketches is necessary to build the work's foundation. I prefer making in the studio, but thinking and researching can never stop. A typical productive studio day would be step by step and check marks on the to-do list, whether it's casting new objects, figuring out technical difficulties, or just documenting the processes.
Is there a medium, a process, or a technique that you haven't used in your work yet but would like to try out?
Yes, currently, I am fascinated by metalsmithing and woodworking, like model making, casting, and creating structures and mainframes.
Radu Sticlea
Curator
“Representation and self-representation turn into a powerful act of self-reflection in wei’s work. Accessing topics of queerness and otherness, the artist reveals and expresses elements of their identity, on their own terms. A fragile piece of handmade Kozo paper holds a self-portrait shadow, exploring the queer body and the meaning of the existence of penumbra. Determined by craft, gesture, form, light, color, and the inclusion or exclusion of body parts; what we see is something that the artist sees within themselves, an assertion of selfhood and visibility.”
What are you currently working on and what’s coming up next for you?
I am currently working on an installation that will produce ensemble performances generated by the audiences. I have been making playable instruments via wax in various forms that represent queer bodies. I want to let go of the authority over my own work and let my audiences shape narratives and form relationships with the work.
How does it feel to be selected as an ArtConnect Artist to Watch?
I am thrilled and honored. I am very excited that through Art Connect, my work can reach more audiences and generate more conversations.
Anything else you want to add?
I think this is an excellent experience to connect your work with many different communities, and I hope the dialogue continues in the future with other participants.
See more of wei’s work
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