Damian Wu | Artist & Researcher

Damian Wu is a Polish artist and researcher whose creative practice deeply explores the nature of the image, perception, and the boundaries of human cognition. His works, referred to as Analog-Virtual Images or Collapsing Images, are a visual manifestation of his developing theory of Unknown Images (NO). In his art and philosophy, Damian combines visual practice with advanced philosophical research into the nature of time, space, and language, including experiments with the Book of Molkund.

Key projects like "Bloom of Eye" and "Time Drawings" showcase his unique approach to visualizing the passage of time and seeking hidden orders. Currently, Damian Wu is preparing to begin doctoral studies in the philosophy of photography in the UK, aiming to further establish and expand the NO concept.

His works are an invitation to contemplation and a challenge to our established ways of perceiving the world.

Born: 1989, Gotyń, Poland

Lives and Works: Doncaster, United Kingdom

ARTIST STATEMENT: The Unknown Image (NO) – Beyond the Masks of Perception

My art and research seek the essence of the image, questioning the very nature of being. I strive to break down ingrained perceptual patterns to access a realm where reality reveals itself in its primal, elusive form.

My works, collapsing images, are a visual manifestation of the Unknown Images (NO) theory, which extends beyond the limiting masks of verism and abstraction. As fluid visions, they don't reflect the world but "collapse into themselves," provoking contemplation beyond form. They are the result of years of experimentation with composite photography, leading to Analog-Virtual Images—an innovation that transcends traditional representation. Their deliberate, slow movement acts as a manifesto against haste, considering the diverse flow of time.

In the AI era, where illusory verism is the norm, the concept of NO becomes crucial. NO doesn't negate reality but expands it, opening up photographic dimensions that evade algorithms and the biomorphic limitations of our perception. It's about finding newness beyond "stagnant thinking."

My research into NO is deepened by exploring the Book of Molkund—an experimental language that seeks to express what lies beyond the limits of human comprehension. This pursuit of the "impossible" is the core of my creative work.

External images—wild abstractions of the present—emerge before our open eyes. Internal images—the untrue collages of dreams and memories—exist behind our closed eyes.

My art aims to blur these boundaries, drawing the viewer into an active process that demands flexible thinking and a search for new perspectives. It's an intellectual challenge—an invitation to reflect on one's own limitations and to find oneself in a sphere where "what is real" becomes a question of the impossible's very nature.

INDIVIDUAL EXHIBITIONS

• 2024 - cyrcles - ArtBomb in Doncaster, UK

• 2019 - another horizon - AT Gallery in Poznań, PL

• 2018 - after the end of the road - Jan Tarasin Art Gallery in Kalisz, PL (winning project of the National Competition for Curators)

• 2018 - visibility of the invisible - VA Gallery in Poznań, PL

EDUCATION

• 2017-2019 | MA Studies, Photography, University of Arts in Poznań, PL

  • Artistic Project: FPHOTOSYNTHESIS OF THE FILM ADAPTATION OF W. GOMBROWICZ'S NOVEL "COSMOS" (supervised by Prof. Piotr Wołyński and Prof. Konrad Kuzyszyn)

  • Theoretical Thesis: PHOTOGRAPHY TIME (supervised by Prof. Marianna Michałowska)

  • Annex in Concrete Poetry (supervised by Prof. Tomasz Wilmański)

• 2013-2016 | BA Studies, Landscape Design, University of Arts in Poznań, PL

  • Artistic Project: TORN FROM REALITY: AN ATTEMPT TO CHANGE PERCEPTION OF SPACE (supervised by Prof. Sławomir Dreszera)

  • Theoretical Thesis: PERCEPTION OF SPACE. AN ANALYSIS (supervised by Prof. Kazimierz Świrydowicz)