"The Book of Zero Series" April 2004

"Mapping of Memory" September 2001

"Inside the Lotus Seed" April 1999

"Rat Fest: an Art Installation" October 1998

"The Art of the New Generation" September 1997

"Alienation Series" April 1995

"The Stanford Series: Drawings" September 1992

"Reflections of Things at Hand II and III" April 1991

"Mapping of Memory"
Solomon Dubnick Gallery, Sacramento, CA.
September 2001

My work is always a search for a visual lingua franca with which I can clearly communicate to the viewers some very basic notions concerning life. In these new works I have created visual metaphors for the way memories are filtered, rearranged, or even fabricated. Even though some of the obvious (or obscured) markings may or may not be familiar, my hope is that the viewer will recognize something of her or his own experience of remembering, perhaps at a more abstract, nonverbal level of awareness.

There are three interrelated series. The Map of Memory and Foot Journey series employ grids and sky atlases, which can be read as mental maps for locating the past, the new, and the unknown. The drawings in these two series are based on the human body parts that signify freedom: the foot and the brain.

The Book of Zero series explores the mathematical and philosophical concept of zero. It consists of forty-nine parts, each of which reiterates the image of a circle, a zero. The zero symbolizes both nothingness and the primal energy of everything. Behind each zero, there are multiple layers of hidden words, chiseled marks, and obscured collaged images that represent the historical tapestry of memory. The encaustic medium I use imparts an opaque interior luminosity that also alludes to memory. Some of the collage elements are personal - directly borrowed from my father's daily calligraphy work.

From Yellow River to Golden River is based on the interpretations of the concept of river as a primal element for nurturing cultures and the evolution of their societies. Each river possesses its uniqueness; all rivers serve humankind and connect us to other places. These works are celebrations of my Chinese ancestors' perseverance. Both Yellow River and Gold River are concepts profoundly intertwined within my own origin and identity, but the river is also a symbol of commonalties that transcend ethnic barriers.

Brenda Louie
September 2001