LuYang

LuYang (Chinese: 陆扬; born 1984) is a Chinese artist.

Biography
LuYang was born in 1984 in Shanghai, China. His parents worked for a medical company, and he spent significant parts of his childhood being treated for asthma and other conditions.

Originally admitted to the programme for painting, LuYang received a Master of Arts in New Media from the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, where he studied under Zhang Peili.

Raised by a Buddhist family, LuYang cites an early interest in religion and belief systems, which later let to biology, neuroscience and religion being central to his artistic oeuvre. LuYang's upbringing was also heavily influenced by foreign pop music and anime, which led him to later identify with Japanese otaku and online subcultures.

Assigned female at birth, the artist identifies as gender-neutral and uses he/him/his pronouns. While critics often focus on biographical details, the artist has stated that "By living on the Internet, you can abandon your identity, nationality, gender, even your existence as a human being. I rather like this feeling."

Artwork
LuYang's practice is grounded in a variety of symbols, identities and narratives. These include Buddhist theology, Chinese cosmology, biology, anime, robotics and gender theory. Much of his work centres around his non-binary digital avatar, named DOKU.

The most renowned of LuYang's artworks are narrative-based video art pieces, but he has also worked in longer format video, game design and sculpture.

LuYang's work has been the subject of solo shows in Europe, the USA, China, Australia and Japan. In 2015, Lu Yang represented China at the 56th Venice Biennale.