This article is part of our China’s Digital Renaissance series done in association with East West Bank. In this article, we explore how technology merges with Chinese tradition in the practice of a generation of young artists.
Cyberpunk is certainly enjoying an extended moment in the pop cultural limelight.
Works like Blade Runner 2049 and Cyberpunk 2077 have reignited images of dystopian, East Asian-infused futurescapes in the public imagination (images which are often problematic, given that much of the cyberpunk genre was founded within a mindset of ‘Yellow Peril’).
Now though, a new generation of young artists are capturing a cybernetic future cast through a lens of Asian tradition.
Dabeiyuzhou, nicknamed ‘Oriental Cyborg,’ has already amassed a significant following in China. The digital artist plays with intersections of transcendental beauty and cyberpunk aesthetics. His work constitutes a fascinating, hi-tech exploration of Buddhist iconography.
Another young artist working in the space between traditional art and emerging technology is Du Kun. His series ‘Scores…