Amy Suo Wu was born in Shantou 汕头, grew up in Western Sydney, and lives in Rotterdam as an artist, designer, and teacher. Her recent interest and practice circles around literal and metaphorical approaches of mending, design as remittance and self-fulfilling prophecy, and how text and textile might be woven together to form embodied publishing. She is currently researching intergenerational mending together with her mum Maria Ling Qing Huang under the auspicious title of Serenity Department. Her previous body of work on steganographic practices as acts of protection, survival, and resistance in the face of oppression and violence is now published under the title A Cookbook of Invisible Writing through Onomatopee. From 2014-2019 she co-organized Rotterdam zine festival, Zine Camp. She has taught at Experimental Publishing at Piet Zwart Institute and Design Department at the Sandberg Institute, and is currently teaching Cultural Diversity at Willem de Kooning Academy.
CURRICULUM VITAE
Education
2010-2012. Master Media Design and Communication, Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam, NL
2007-2009. Bachelor of Design, Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam, NL
2004-2006. Bachelor of Design, College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales, Sydney, AU
Solo exhibitions
2019. Thunderclap, Artspace Ideas Platform, Sydney, AU
2018. Hutong Whispers, Drugo More, Rijeka, HR
2017. The Kandinsky Collective, Aksioma, Ljubljana, SI
2012. Prediction TV, Showroom MAMA, Rotterdam, NL
Selected group exhibitions/performances
2023. Nane Limon Kabuğu, MAMA, Rotterdam, NL
2022. When Things Are Beings, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, NL
2022. Bound, Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA), AU
2022. Ways of Caring, State of Fashion Biennale, NL
2021. To Be Like Water, TENT, NL
2021. Fellows Exhibit, Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam, NL
2021. The Brain Mixologist, A Tale of a Tub, NL
2020. Thunderclap, PrintRoom, NL
2020. Unfaithful Transcripts together with Clara Balaguer, Page Not Found, Den Haag, NL
2019. Wear your words, Kunsthalle, Ghent, BE
2019. Meme Tactics, Cuchifritos Gallery, New York City, USA
2019. Meme Tactics, Center For Media At Risk, University of Pennsylvania, US
2019. Hutong Whispers, Onomatopee, Eindhoven, NL
2018. Escaping the Digital Unease, Espace Multimedia Gantner, FR
2018. Monoskop Exhibition Library, Seoul Mediacity Biennale, KR
2018. Policy of Disappearance, Studio Gallery BWA Wrocław, PL
2017. Art@IFG (Internet Governance Forum), Palais des Nations, Geneva, CH
2017. In No Particular Order, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, NL
2017. Escaping the Digital Unease, Kunsthaus Langenthal, CH
2016. Spending Quality Time With My Quantified Self, TENT Rotterdam, NL
2015. Identifikuj.me, G12HUB in Belgrade, RS
2014. Festival de Wereld van het Witte de Withkwartier, Rotterdam, NL
2014. Frames of thinking, Poortgebouw, Rotterdam, NL
2013. 55th Venice Biennale, Maldives Pavilion, IT
2013. De Nacht van Kunst & Wetenschap at Oude Postkantoor, SIGN, Groningen, NL
2012. Exception Handling, TENT & V2, Rotterdam, NL
2012. International Film Festival Rotterdam, WORM, Rotterdam, NL
2011. No Such Thing As Repetition, Roodkapje, Rotterdam, NL
2011. Speed Show: Rebelhuis, Rotterdam, NL
2010. Holy Crap (in collaboration with Alina Parigger), Roodkapje, Rotterdam, NL
Selected talks/presentations/workshops
2024. Workshop Fashion Department, Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam, NL
2023. Artist talk Tufts University, US
2023. Talk and workshop Critical Fashion Practices Master Artez, Arnhem, NL
2022. Artist talk McGil University, CA
2021. Panel discussion at Affective Graphic Design conference, Kunstinstituut Melly, NL
2021. Workshop Ghost in the Family, Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam, NL
2021. Talk at Graphic Design Department, HfG Karlsruhe, DE
2020. Talk at Graphic Design Department, California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), US
2020. Talk at Graphic Design Department, California College of the Arts (CCA), US
2020. Talk at Graphic Design Department, Rhode Island School of Design, US
2020. Talk at Zurich University of the Arts, Zurich, CH
2019. Talk and panel discussion at POST Design Festival, Copenhagen, DK
2019. Talk and workshop at Graphic Design Arnehm Summer Sessions, De-Modernizing Design, NL
2019. Book launch of A Cookbook of Invisible Writing at PrintRoom, Rotterdam, NL
2019. Book launch of A Cookbook of Invisible Writing at Onomatopee, Eindhoven, NL
2019. Talk at Found in Translation, curated by Urok Shirhan, Perdu, Amsterdam, NL
2019. Lecture and workshop at Master Interior Design Artez, Zwolle, NL
2019. Lecture and workshop at Graphic Design Arnhem, NL
2018. Guest lecturer at Science Friction minor, Design Academy Eindhoven, NL
2018. Project week at Merz Academy, Stuttgart, DE
2018. Project week at The Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, NL
2017. Lecture and workshop at The Influencers Festival, Barcelona, ES
2017. Invisible Ink workshop at Qspace – queer/feminist/maker space, Beijing, CN
2017. The New Nushu and Thunderclap, I:projectspace, Beijing, CN
2017. Artist talk at Gengdan Institute of Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, CN
2017. Tactics and poetics of invisiblity talk, Academy of Fine Arts, Ljubljana, SI
2016. Talk at Post Internet Cafe: End of Session at PrintRoom, Rotterdam, NL
2016. Invisible ink workshop at MOJE TVOJE NAŠE (Mine Yours Ours) festival, Rijeka, HR
2016. Artist talk at TENT Rotterdam, NL
2015. Tactics and poetics of invisiblity, Conversa, Rotterdam, NL
2015. Tactics and poetics of invisiblity, Privacy Cafe organised by Bits of Freedom at WORM, Rotterdam, NL
2012. Prediction TV, Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam, NL
2012. Prediction TV, Showroom MAMA, Rotterdam, NL
2011. BENJI in Sniff, Scrap, Crawl panel at ISEA2011, Istanbul, TR
Selected design and production work
2020. Holes in Smoke, an expanded publication in the form of a curtain and website, commissioned by Tai Kwun for their Artists’ Book Library, HK
2016. DISPLAY. A multi-functional preview and presentation booth commissioned by WORM Pirate Bay, NL
2016. Return to Sender. Book design and production by Studio Eyesberg for photographer Lou Muuse, NL
2014 - 2019. Zine Camp, an annual two day DIY festival at WORM. Organiser and designer of festival identity, NL
2014 - 2016. Horspil. Package design and production of radio plays on cassette tapes by Studio Eyesberg for Rotterdam experimental sound studio, Klangendum, NL
2014. De Bel: A Very Hard Cover Book. Book design and production by Studio Eyesberg for artist, Dennis de Bel, NL
Teaching
Since 2018. Practice tutor at Cultural Diversity minor in Social Practices, WDKA, NL
Since 2021. Guest tutor at Critical Fashion Masters, Arnhem, NL
2020-2022. Core tutor at Design Department, Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam, NL
2018-2021. Core tutor at Experimental Publishing Master, Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam, NL
2014-2016. Research tutor at Hacking minor in Autonomous Practices, WDKA, Rotterdam, NL
2013-2018. Core tutor Graphic Design department, Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam (WDKA), NL
Residencies
2024. Plaatsmaken, Arnhem, NL
2020. Motel Spatie, Arnhem, NL. Together with Elaine W. Ho
2019. Jenny's Dry Cleaning and Alterations, Sydney, AU
2017. ZKU, Berlin, DE
2017. I:projectspace, Beijing, CN
Published writing
2023. Introduction to Steganography, Macguffin Magazine, NL
2022. Looking in the Goblin Mirror, Liminal, AU
2022. Dark Cousin, a column on Steganography and beyond on SourceType, CH
2021. Situationer Workbook by Publication Studio Rotterdam, NL
2019. A Cookbook of Invisible Writing, published by Onomatopee, Eindhoven, NL
2012. BENJI in Sniff, Scrape, Crawl... {on privacy, surveillance and our shadowy data-double}, published by Piet Zwart Institute, NL
Grants/Fellowship
2020. Research fellowship at the Sandberg Instituut, NL
2016. The Grant Programme for Talent Development from Creative Industries Fund, NL
2015. Onderzoek and Ontwikkeling subsidy from CBK Rotterdam, NL
2010. Huygens Scholarship Programme, NL
2010. Van Beek-Donner Stichting grant, Rotterdam, NL
2010. Cultuurscout Rotterdam Centrum subsidy, NL
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PRESS
2021. Interview with Bookshop Library - Publishing the Public(ation): What it means to make something public, with Honey Kraiwee, Yin Yin Wong, Clara Balaguer and myself
2021. Interview in Metropolis M Magzine - Diaspora Dialogues, with Isabelle Sully and Pilar Mata Dupont
2021. Thunderclap featured in The MIT Press book 'Code as Creative Medium' by Golan Levin and Tega Brain
2020. ‘Decolonizing Means Many Things to Many People’ by Anoushka Khandwala for AIGA Eye On Design
2019. Thunderclap featured in Girls Like Us Magazine
2019. Thunderclap featured on ABC's The Mix, interviewed by Abubakr Mahmoud
2019. Review of 'A Cookbook of Invisible Writing' on AIGA Eye On Design by Madeleine Morley
2019. Recap: Amy Suo Wu’s “Thunderclap” on Art Asia Pacific, by Chloé Wolifson
2018. Feature article in AIGA Eye On Design's first printed magazine 'Invisible', by Madeleine Morley
2017. Interview with Glamcult
2017. Interview with China Residencies
2017. Escaping the Digital Unease with essays by Raffael Dörig, Paul Feigelfeld, Claire Hoffmann, Marie Lechner, Domenico Quaranta and Felix Stalder, for the occasion of the show with the same title.
2017. Thunderclap DIY day in art guide of The Creators Project, VICE China
2017. Appearance on Slovenia national news, RTV4, for the occasion of "The Kandinsky Collective"
2017. Full interview by Mojca Kumerdej for Delo Saturday, published online and printed in the cultural supplement.
2017. Article by Maja Šučur for Dnevnik.si, Ljubljana newspaper in Slovenia.
2017. Article by Jela Krečič for Delo, the national newspaper in Slovenia.
2017. "Hidden In Plain Sight", essay by Florian Cramer for the ocassion of solo show "The Kandinsky Collective", published by Aksioma Brochure Series