LuYang on ancient philosophies and digital identities in 'DOKU The Flow'

One thing to keep in mind before interacting with LuYang (b.1984), who shuttles between Shanghai and Tokyo, is his intense dislike for labels. Instead of the terms 'artist’ or ‘Chinese artist’, he simply prefers to be called ‘creator’ and the only thing he’s willing to discuss about his gender is his preferred pronouns, he/him/his – being assigned female at birth. This gender nonconformism has transcended into his ever-growing Marvel-esque metaverse of gender-neutral characters.

Another side to LuYang is the interests he combines to create virtual worlds of phantasmagoria within his 3D-animated films and video game installations. Apart from being a self-proclaimed Otaku (a person obsessed with Japanese culture; manga/video games or aspects of Japanese popular culture), LuYang is equally interested in religious practices of the East (Tibetan-Buddhist teaching, Hindu mythology, etc.), neuroscience, gaming, K-Pop, superheroes, dance, psychology and technology (motion capture, software manipulation, CGI animation, digital modelling, virtual reality, holograms and more). Some of these interests stem from his Sino-Japanese lived experiences, growing up hearing his grandmother’s Buddhist chants and even studying video art under the 'Father of Video Art in China', Zhang Peili, while pursuing a Master’s degree at China Academy of Art, Hangzhou.

And here comes the twist. LuYang views the characters and their worlds he creates, albeit painstakingly, as just the ‘outer shells’ THAT hold the core message behind his art. A prime example is one of his earliest works, considered pivotal to his practice, the video work Uterus Man (2013), a genderless superhero who travels on a ‘pelvis chariot’ and winged sanitary pad and is blessed with the superpower to change its enemy's gender, birth a human baby, then weaponise it in the fight to save the universe. The famed Japanese artist Mao Sugiyama, a "nullo” [a term for someone who has surgically undergone genital nullification], was later roped in to cosplay as Uterus Man in real-time.

It was soon after LuYang’s video work Cancer Baby (2014)—cancer cells styled as arcade-ish Pac-Man, prancing about, hoping to remove negativity associated with the disease—that LuYang first debuted his digital genderless character DOKU to the world in the music video for Playing On My Mind, a 2015 song by the British rock band The 1975. The character had LuYang’s face that displayed 50 of his facial expressions and the dance moves of a professional dancer using face scan and motion capture technologies. This was followed by the video work Delusional Mandala (2015), which reflected LuYang’s deep interest in mind control and brain studies with a naked DOKU dancing awkwardly, wearing a crown that is a spiky stereotactic head frame, a neuroscience transmitter that administers electric currents to ‘correct’ brain-related diseases such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, etc., LuYang gave DOKU its own three-part film series. The first instalment, DOKU The Self (2022), premiered at the 59th edition of the Venice Biennale. The second instalment, DOKU The Flow, is currently on view at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, till September 9, 2024, while DOKU The Illusion is in the works. The DOKU series offers a new dimension to creatively fathom the Buddhist concept of samsara (karmic cycles of reincarnation). These DOKUS feature as individual humanoids representing the six samsaric realms of rebirth with DOKU avatars—Animal, Asura, Heaven, Hell, Human and Hungry Ghost—portrayed like stylish superheroes channelling anime or online gaming characters. Each DOKU avatar impresses with its own set of identity markers—hairstyle, demeanour, costumes, full-body patterns/tattoos displaying either incandescent circuitry or ancient motifs, plus facial expressions and dance moves that were motion captured from traditional legong, baris and kathakali dancers. With their ability to jump from one state to another and the fact that non-dualism eliminates the ego, the storyline permits diverse meanings. Some scenes leave a lasting impact – in DOKU The Flow, the naked DOKU human avatar rips open its chest to reveal a miniature self housed inside, with the voiceover saying, “The creator and the created are each other.” The scene is a direct reference to the epochal moment in the Indian epic Ramayana when Hindu monkey king Hanuman is tested for his faith and opens his chest to reveal the protagonists Rama and Sita within.

LuYang’s DOKU series uses religious and cultural imagery to revisit East meets West creative themes, through the ‘spirituality marketplace’ of diverse products like yoga or meditation sold in dollars to those Westerners who turn to the East for salvation. Are virtual art worlds like that of LuYang’s, which are grand theatrical presentations, which are made possible only through the choicest collaborations with robotic technological companies, dancers, music composers and producers, scientists, psychologists, spiritual gurus and the artist themselves, solely attributable to the artist as the maker? Or can they also be ascribed to others in the creative process? LuYang speaks with STIR about his character DOKU, his various influences and the idea of the self.

Ornella D’Souza: What does the word 'DOKU' entail?

LuYang: ‘DOKU’ is the abbreviation of the Japanese phrase 'Dokusho Dokushi' [‘We are born alone and we die alone’], from the Buddhist scripture, The Infinite Life Sutra. It emphasises the solitary nature of life, that birth and death are inherently personal experiences which cannot be shared or transferred. This realisation encourages practitioners to focus on their personal spiritual development, take accountability for one’s actions and complete the path to liberation alone. Dokusho Dokushi is also connected to 'anatman' or non-self, another Buddhist doctrine which implies that individuals must transcend their attachment to the 'self,' recognising that the 'self' is a temporary, ever-changing construct. DOKU is the conduit for expressing my worldview. I feel better ‘anatman’ while ‘creating’. I find it to be a selfless practice because I use it to inspire others to think. The influences of anime and similar styles are just the outer shells for my characters, the visual aspects to present my works, but don't influence my core philosophy.

Ornella: Your characters use dance as a medium of expression, so much so that all your avatars have their own dance style. Can you elaborate on that?

LuYang: One of my research directions in the past decade is to explore the relationship between the brain, consciousness and body, which becomes more apparent in dance. Over the past decade, I have accumulated a lot of work on this subject, such as some pieces in NetiNeti (2023). In the long history of dance, there are dancers, who after rigorous training, developed physical capabilities that go beyond the ordinary. Bali's legong and baris dancers are trained from the age of five to use their eyeballs and facial muscles and hone the frequency and angles of their finger movements. Even the subtle facial expressions of Kerala’s Kathakali dancers are astounding. I have motion-captured these kinds of amazing bodily and micro-facial expressions perfected after decades of practice and applied them to my digital human, DOKU. I have assigned certain dances to certain avatars: the graceful legong dance to the heavenly characters, the Warrior dance for the Asuras, who are in constant battle, or the Dance of Hell for Rangda [the demon queen who damaged crops and caused disease using black magic] and to depict the wrath of Hindu gods Shiva and Kali.

All technology tries to solve problems of the external world, but the operation of the external world relies on our brains and consciousness. – LuYang

Ornella: How will DOKU The Illusion take the DOKU series forward?

LuYang: DOKU the Self primarily explores the pseudo-concept of the Self. DOKU the Flow delves into the dissolution of the Self and presents it as being omnipresent and fluid within the universe. DOKU the Illusion will explore the illusory nature of our existence. It will start with a debate between the virtual world and the real world, questioning what is real and what is illusion. Also, soon there will be NFTs of artworks created by DOKU as an artist.

Ornella: Your creations imply that despite our technological advancements we will fail as human beings without reliance on ancient and religious philosophies.

LuYang: All technology tries to solve problems of the external world, but the operation of the external world relies on our brains and consciousness. The external world is filled with uncertainty and impermanence and it is futile to fight against impermanence. We cannot achieve true inner peace and wisdom by perfecting the external world, as even if you solve all external problems with technology, the universe will change and new, complex issues will emerge. To continuously patch up problems hoping to find constancy in an ever-changing universe is fundamentally foolish. By the definition of ancient religious philosophies and Buddhism, I see no difference between ancient and modern. Wisdom is wisdom and does not become irrelevant after a few 1,000 years of Earth's history.

Ornella: It’s fascinating to watch varied themes such as anime, manga, gaming, mythology and painting coalesce in the scenes, characters and their costumes in your films. Can you talk about your creative process?

LuYang: Anime and similar styles are just the ‘outer shell’. These visual elements are trivial, I merely use these forms to present my artwork. I feel these aspects are superficial compared to the essence of my work.

It's very abstract and difficult to discuss in detail, but it's like the universe sends me information and I just know what it should look like. I generally sit quietly in nature for an hour, during which the universe transmits a lot of energy. Images and concepts naturally emerge as deep mental imprints. I straightaway dive into the production process, during which I only need to drag my consciousness back to that hour of meditation to know what it should look like. I'm not the kind of artist who revises their work intensely during the creative process. The final artwork is random and consistent with my initial idea. Moreover, I have never used AI or similar tools in the creation of the works that I have published so far, but I might use them in the future if AI becomes more sophisticated and useful.

Ornella: You have always refrained from discussing gender, designed gender-neutral or nonbinary avatars and refused to label yourself. Is this because you feel gender hinders inclusivity?

LuYang: Gender certainly impedes inclusivity. From my personal experience, having my gender discovered by the media has been disadvantageous, as they tend to classify things in a crude way. I remove all labels so that they do not become a cage that restricts me. That's all. My audience doesn't seem to care who I am; they resonate with the core of my work.

Ornella: Given the time you spend creating virtual worlds and avatars, it appears that you constantly live on the internet. Can you survive for a day without it?

LuYang: As long as I have enough books, I can remain disconnected from the world indefinitely. There are plenty of things to do without the internet, such as meditation, studying, reading books and working. These activities essentially occupy my daily routine.