Contemporary Artist Dwight Zhang on How Embracing Life’s “Stubborn Stains” Helped Him Accept Uncertainty
- 5 days ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
What if the search for answers is not about reaching a final conclusion, but about learning to live with the questions?
For Canada-based contemporary artist Dwight Zhang, creating art is an ongoing process of observation, reflection, and reckoning. As he continues to learn and create, each answer leads to another question, creating a constant cycle of curiosity that influences both his understanding of himself and his practice. In this conversation, Dwight shares how painting allows him to examine and recognize the experiences that become those “stubborn stains” of life. Instead of trying to scrub away uncertainty, his work asks what it means to acknowledge these marks, accept what may never be fully understood, and recognize that these lingering moments are often the ones that remind us we’re not alone.
Selfless Art: Let’s start with a fun icebreaker: If your thoughts were tattoos, would you keep adding new pieces as part of your story, or would you consider covering some up? Why?
Dwight Zhang: Much like my actual tattoos, I have complicated feelings about my thoughts, especially how they might be read or judged. Some came from outside: wanting to impress, look cool, or fit in. Others came from somewhere more private, and some were probably completely pointless.
Eventually, I realized no one was judging them more harshly than I was, so I've tried to make peace with them. Like it or not, new pieces are inevitable, but I won't cover up or remove the old ones. Some could embarrass me or no longer represent who I am, but they're still part of me. Gradually, they overlap, contradict, and change how I understand what came before. Unfortunately, that might just be what I am: a chaotic, complex accumulation.
Selfless Art: Can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to be an artist?
Dwight Zhang: I don’t have one of those romantic child-prodigy stories, although I did study art seriously from a young age. Those classes eventually stopped because I was expected to prioritize academics, and art disappeared from my life for a while. I grew up in China, moved to Toronto at sixteen, and wanted to become a theoretical physicist, but that path was strongly opposed at home. I eventually returned to art, the only other path I could see myself walking. For me, art and physics are not entirely separate; both come from the urge to observe, question, and seek answers.
I studied illustration at OCAD University, but I struggled with its emphasis on communicating a specific message clearly. At that time, digital and commercially focused paths were becoming more dominant, while I found myself drawn to the openness of oil painting and a more subtle approach. It allowed me to work with intention and technical control instead of confining an image to one correct interpretation or serving someone or something else. Today, I continue developing my practice while running an art studio and working as a tattoo artist. Apparently, creating—or perhaps overthinking—is something I can’t really escape.
Selfless Art: Some of your work feels connected to personal experiences. How do you decide what moments become part of your work?
Dwight Zhang: This is an interesting question because I don’t think I consciously choose these moments; they're the stubborn stains that remain. They're not the loudest or most dramatic experiences. On the surface, almost nothing may be happening: a girl sitting, lying on a bed, or smoking quietly; strands of hair scattered across the floor; dust dancing in a room; or a faint smell lingering in a room. What emerges is not always a clear image or narrative. Sometimes it's atmospheric: blurred vision, subtle glares, or simply the density of the air. And sometimes it's more physical: arms wrapping around each other, the suffocating pressure of a thick down jacket, and the shifting forces pulling, pushing, and moving together.
These moments don't return merely as fragments of the past. They become present again. That's where their timelessness comes from. The process becomes deliberate once these moments enter my work. I dissect them further, translating them through color, composition, anatomy, light, space, brushwork, and symbols. The memory may be unclear, but my intention is clear.
I refuse to force clarity where none exists. I believe missing or unresolved pieces are not flaws; they secure the integrity and genuineness of the moment. What remains and what's disappeared both tell me the moment belongs in the work.
Selfless Art: How has your understanding of yourself changed through the act of making art?
Dwight Zhang: Making art has made my understanding of myself both clearer and more complicated. I once thought I was just a dumb kid, but later discovered I was quite rational and logical. Then I had to accept I'm also sensitive, emotional, and prone to overthinking. I realized these qualities aren't mutually exclusive. My emotions never stay fully emotional: part of me instinctively steps back, questions what exactly I'm feeling, searches for patterns and reasons, and tries to navigate through them.
I see myself as layered and fluid rather than fixed. As I learn, question, and create, I'm constantly changing. I doubt I'll ever fully understand myself. Every answer raises another question. Perhaps there's no ultimate answer, or perhaps the search itself is the answer.
Selfless Art: Do you think art helps us understand ourselves, or simply reminds us that we’re not alone? Why?
Dwight Zhang: In my opinion, art does both. The urge to observe, feel, express, communicate, and create seems fundamental to being human. It appears in prehistoric images, in a child’s first doodles, and in the work people continue to make and consume, with or without formal training. Sometimes we analyze technique, history, structure, symbols, or meaning. Sometimes we immerse ourselves to experience beauty, discomfort, recognition, or the sublime. These are what we share and what exist within us.
I don’t think individuality equals loneliness. We're inherently alone; there's no way to prove that what I experience is exactly the same as what anyone else experiences. I can't guarantee the blue I see is the same as the blue you see, or that a feeling with the same name feels the same inside another person. What happens within my mind is entirely my own.
We tune and calibrate ourselves through the world and other people, discovering common ground. This never proves we have identical experiences, but it leads to recognition. Art is a beacon that draws us toward one another, not because we experience it in exactly the same way, but because what resonates closely makes us less alone.
I remove the biography from something personal without removing the humanity, so something stays recognizable even when the backstory is gone. I want it to become accessible through experience rather than explanation, so viewers can recognize something through themselves instead of being given one conclusion and asked to accept it.
Selfless Art: You’ve mentioned that you prefer not to over-explain your work. How long did it take for you to become comfortable allowing viewers to create their own interpretations?
Dwight Zhang: Many years, and it's still an ongoing process. My training was in illustration, where communication is essential and we're expected to deliver a particular idea clearly and efficiently. It made me paranoid about catering to all viewers. If they misinterpret my intention, the fault is always on me.
Everyone experiences things through their own history and perspective. No matter how carefully I communicate, multiple interpretations are inevitable. Even my own relationship with my work isn't always romantic. I may love something, then file for divorce just a moment after. Am I completely comfortable with that? Probably not. But I no longer see it as a problem to eliminate.
On the other hand, I don't want my work to mean just anything, and I think using openness as an excuse for having no structure is lazy and irresponsible. Think of the Age of Discovery. That sense of possibility is what drove people crazy. But the unknown can be intimidating, making it hard to take the first step. Once every corner is mapped, however, it can suddenly feel too defined and contained, leaving little room for excitement.
My practice is about finding a balance between intention and openness. I imagine it as building a large dome: I determine its architecture, keeping the rain outside, but once someone enters, what they do beneath it belongs to them.
Selfless Art: Fill in the blank: My responsibility as an artist is to create work that offers viewers ______.
Dwight Zhang: Recognition.
Art does not always reveal something entirely new. Sometimes, it helps us make peace with something that was already there. Throughout this conversation, Dwight Zhang reflects on art as a way of observing, questioning, and understanding the world within. As he continues to examine and create, he finds that understanding himself becomes both clearer and more complex, revealing new layers rather than final answers.
Perhaps this is one of art’s greatest abilities: to help us recognize what we may not fully understand, while offering a clearer sense of who we are and how we relate to the world around us. In Dwight’s paintings, what remains unresolved is not treated as something incomplete, but as part of what makes a moment honest and genuine.
To see more of Dwight Zhang's incredible work and stay updated on his latest projects, be sure to follow him on Instagram!
DISCLAIMER:
The personal views, opinions, and perspectives expressed by artists featured, interviewed, or presented on this site are solely those of the respective individuals. They do not reflect the views, beliefs, or opinions of Selfless Art Gallery, its staff, or affiliates.
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