Artist Biography:

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        Xiaoyu Fu is an international student from China, currently a senior Visual Arts student at the University of Regina, specializing in printmaking. Due to her identity, the combination of Eastern and Western cultures is a primary creative interest for her. The themes of most of her projects are influenced by nature, time, and the religious element related to her background culture including Buddhism. Her practice explores her East-Asian identity through her knowledge of North American printmaking techniques, and her desire to master those processes.
 

Artist Statement:

         My background culture is my gift and the element that becomes the most durable base in my art. It is my honour to let the audience experience the wisdom behind Buddhist philosophy, and it is also the reason why I create Buddha and Lotus. Exploring and learning about Buddhist philosophy is finding a way to my roots. There is a 4000-year-old historical tradition in my cultural background; countless legends and Chinese myths have influenced my life. My identity is the unique gift that I will keep forever and I can only feel my authentic self when I experience it. It is a healing of my innermost being and a kind of self-sublimation. 
        The idea of connecting Buddhist philosophy with Western printmaking is also an expression of self-portraiture. Before I came to Canada at the age of 14, the influence of the Chinese culture imprinted a pattern deeply on my soul, the same as the etching technique that affects copper plates. Buddha and Lotus composed of four printmaking works. This series not only records my experience of learning printmaking during my undergraduate study but also records how I updated my knowledge and understanding of Buddhist philosophy through this process.
        Each work in this series can be appreciated as a separate work; they are completed by different printmaking techniques. However, I prefer to define it as a personal journey of my experience in printmaking technology. I work with a variety of processes for my pieces ranging from basic etching on copper plates to more complicated means such as the use of multiple plates, letterpress and Chine collé for a more delicate surface. I never stopped the pace of learning and exploration. 
        Still, the theme and elements of each are not separated from “lotus” and “Buddhism.” In Buddhism, the lotus symbolizes the incarnation of the Buddha because the lotus grows in mud but is never contaminated by it; the powerful Bodhisattvas use lotus as their mounts. The focus of this series is the confrontation of two contrasting cultures that is manifested in my experience as a Chinese living in Canada: the tradition of Chinese Buddhist religion and philosophy realized through the use of Western and contemporary printmaking processes. The more I study Buddhism, the more I can resonate with its philosophy; The more I was exposed to printmaking, the more skills I wanted to learn from it. Personally, the Buddhist interpretation of life has something in common with my experience in learning printmaking. Life is strange and mysterious, just like the beauty of printmaking; it is exciting and risky.