LU YANG - DOKU THE ILLUSION

Lu Yang has established a strong presence on the international art scene through the creation of virtual worlds presented as immersive video installations. His imagined universes — often marked by post-apocalyptic undertones — are grounded above all in Buddhist philosophy, engaging concepts such as dreams and waking, illusion and awakening, and the Madhyamaka inquiry into intrinsic nature. This philosophical framework intersects with a broader investigation into the structure of reality in the digital age.

Manga, video games and anime — contemporary visual idioms adopted by Lu Yang — function primarily as a formal vocabulary rather than as the conceptual foundation of his work. Through this visual grammar, the artist brings forth hybrid entities that move beyond fixed categories of identity and embodiment, opening a space to reflect on what it means to be human in the 21st century.

For his exhibition at the Espace Louis Vuitton Venezia, Lu Yang has created an installation featuring original sculptures and a video work centred on his new film DOKU The Illusion, the fourth chapter in the DOKU series, an ambitious narrative project the artist began in 2019. DOKU is a virtual character based on the digitalisation of the artist’s own face. The series depicts the solitary adventures of this multifaceted avatar, through which Lu Yang transcends the limits of the physical body and explores new forms of freedom through digital reincarnation.

The installation created by Lu Yang transforms the Espace Louis Vuitton Venezia into a cybernetic sanctuary, situated somewhere between a chapel and a futuristic refuge. At its core, the film DOKU The Illusion can be seen on a monumental LED screen, placed on an altar. This chapter is the series’ fourth instalment after The Self (2022), The Flow (2023), and The Creator (2025), and blends live-action footage with AI-generated imagery. It primarily unfolds against a backdrop of the deep-blue skies and expansive landscapes of Japan’s Izu Peninsula, forming a veritable road movie.

Taken in an immersive environment, visitors are greeted by two sculptures of Buddha holding the wheel of life, the eternal symbol of the cycle of existence. Thanks to a mirrored ceiling reflecting a floor that is characteristic of Venetian architecture, each visitor becomes part of the experience, their projected silhouette integrated into the installation itself for a liminal moment in time in which contemplation and dissolution merge and mirror, echoing the Buddhist quest for enlightenment.

Within this sanctuary-like space, the visitor watches DOKU hurtling along in a red vehicle, a symbol of freedom. The soundtrack — a blend of hip-hop, piano and traditional music — harmonises exquisitely with the voices, intimate narratives and palpable vibrations, reflecting the theme of the 61st International Art Exhibition — La Biennale di Venezia, IN MINOR KEYS.