Dou Wei and Java Bentley
стъпка по стъпка Step by step

Vishovgrad and ARV Residency brought together artists Dou Wei and Java Bentley to collaborate in their upcoming show стъпка по стъпка. Almost as if by a phenomenon, step by step, Dou and Java come from different places, connecting through this creative experience. A saying part of everyday conversation in Bulgarian, their title speaks to moments they shared in their journey and the connections they have made with people, places and beyond.

Informed by Vishovgrad as visitors, Dou focuses on the unnoticed gaps, hidden gems of the village that make up crossroads or steps taken in the village, extending her archive to outer region towns, including Pavlikeni, Veliko Tarnovo, and Pleven in Bulgaria. Aligning with the necrology presented in family homes that also trace a lineage of the everyday in the past, present, and future, Java creates a relationship between different customs of death between Bulgaria and Aotearoa, New Zealand. Though their first time meeting was a month ago, they collaboratively came together through the language of poetry combining Bulgarian, English, Mandarin, and Māori.

Dou Wei (b. 1994) K’jipuktuk/Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, China. Dou Wei is an artist whose creative endeavors span painting, installations, film, and ceramic sculpture. Over the past five years, Dou's installations and films have explored the concept of nature as a transcendent phenomenon characterized by both uncontrollability and fluidity, as well as the non-functional attributes of extension and diffraction as manifestations of the natural world. In recent works, Dou's focus lies within the realms of painting. Her artworks seamlessly integrate a plethora of man-made objects based on organic materials, including but not limited to wood carvings, jade, stone, brass, taxidermy, religious figurines, and relics. These objects are stretched, distorted, or magnified in part or as a whole, resulting in entirely new, blurred boundaries within the realm of artificial imagery. Born in China and graduated from The China Central Academy of Fine Arts(CAFA) in 2021, earning an MFA. Currently residing and working in K’jipuktuk/Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Dou continues her artistic practice in her studio. Through personal understanding of man-made objects and nature, she explores and expresses emotions and imagination.

Java Bentley (b. 1994) Aotearoa, New Zealand, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāpuhi, Samoa, Pākehā. Sculptural installation artist Java Bentley speaks to hangarua (recycling) as a way of connecting to the cyclic nature of all things and, thus, whakapapa (lineage). Acknowledging the natural world as interconnected and that is constantly evolving gives an opportunity for tangata (people) to also change and adapt. Focusing on recycled materials, Bentley visually presents the lineage of materials to discuss the relationships tangata have with our everyday cultural landscape. As a site-specific artist, she is informed by the environment and community. Recently completing her Masters in Māori Visual Arts at Toioho ki Āpiti Aotearoa, New Zealand, in 2024, she continues to give back to her mentors Karangawai Marsh and Kura Te Waru Rewiri.

The exhibition is supported by the Arts Council New Zealand. Thanks to Tequila Bar Fnky Mnky for free drinks on the opening night.