Kássia Borges (Rare Karaka Huni Huin) And Ibã Huni Kuin (Mahku Collective)

Dan Zhu works across drawing, painting and mural, often combining natural objects such as petals or fruit with human figures in her compositions. Aiming to capture the often-puzzling dynamic between nature and human consciousness, Zhu plays with scale, repetition and color to create spectral, cubist like visions. In The Broken Fruit (2022) the artist applies a mixture of acrylic and watercolour on paper, marking and tracing potential movements of pieces of fruit. Zhu cites the work of philosopher Henri Bergson as leaving a deep imprint on her and her ways of seeing. His ideas surrounding immediate experience and intuition are reflected in the immense energy of her markings and her reluctance to let any form settle in one place. Esoteric artist Hilma af Klint is another key influence for Zhu, sharing her interest in botanical and cosmological energy. Magnetic to encounter, Zhu’s paintings find the phantasmal in everyday materials, awakening the beauty in habitual environments.