Deyi Alyce Wang

“ My practice probes the intersections of personal and collective memory through the lens of fantasy in order to explore how consumerism shapes our impressions of the past. This involves collecting texts, images, and scenes which inspire dreaming and contemplation, which I abstract through recontextualization in order to better understand their relationship to memory. 

While oil paint is the prevalent medium throughout my work, I continually expand my archive of painting by repurposing non-canvas surfaces: reusing fabric from old uniforms, collaging photographs, and painting over sheet music. Many of my material choices are informed by personal nostalgia, such as retro advertisements, childrens' visual media, and the atmospheric images that are found in Goya's aquatints and Helen Frankenthaler's landscape paintings. 

The surface of my paintings manifest elusive qualities of memory through fluid brushstrokes and semi-transparent layers. While their playful colors may suggest a dreamlike quality, the saturated hues and romanticized imagery can nevertheless come across as unconvincing. I compose images in a way which entice viewers to imagine what lies beyond the frame. Often, I use text which functions as a foreign element in the composition, probing the images and expanding the frame. Although the images I make are figurative, the scenes remain ambiguous. This entices viewers to shape the work to their point of view, subsuming it into their own remembering.”