Cover Visual artist from Bohol, Zuh Dai
Visual artist from Bohol, Zuh Dai
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As Zuh Dai plans to connect her background in architecture and art in the future, she is content with how her current works are being admired and bringing pride to her hometown, Bohol
This year’s Modern and Contemporary Art Festival (MoCAF) last July 28-30, 2023 at Raffles, Makati was a treat for art enthusiasts and collectors alike, as the cream of the crop in the art world congregated for three days to appreciate art in its recent forms and functions. From seasoned artists to new discoveries, there have been quite a lot of names that received attention—one of which is the visual artist Zuh Dai.
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Growing up in a family of artists, Zuh Dai took to art at a very young age. She describes her relationship with them as “competitively creative”, with each one embodying a dili papildi (not to be outdone) attitude. “So, growing up, what one sister does, everybody follows. The same goes for how we started pursuing and enjoying art,” she says.
“I love creating with my sisters. They are my strength, my inspiration, and my greatest critics. And despite us doing the same things, our artistic strokes are very different, definitely highlighting our own self. We didn’t want to be tagged as one, we are not just ‘sisters who paint’,” explains Zuh Dai. “We are each our own.”
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Zuh Dai is a very inquisitive artist. “I like asking questions and solving problems,” she proudly says. Her works, Peeping Daddy and Cumshot, are proof of this quality of hers—and which she confesses have been vital for her growth in the industry, too.
Peeping Daddy was part of the first pieces she created. “It really was the pioneer piece, one of my proudest. It showed how willing I am to take risks and how far I’m willing to achieve to try something new,” she explains. “It definitely triggered my curiosity to explore.”
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On the other hand, Cumshot was her first gallery piece and her first installation art piece. “I love the dimensions the pieces played with. From the light to the shadows to the wires connecting it all together, and most especially how it takes up the space. Definitely one of my strongest pieces.”
At this year’s MoCAF, she presented two pieces that are different yet similar to each other. “One is hard and the other one soft; one made in seriousness and the other made for fun. And yet both came from one.”
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For Grey Area In Between, “it’s acrylic on acrylic glass, and I painted it in reverse. I love how limited my control is with the piece. I love the unpredictability—I never really know what it’s going to look like.” Meanwhile, Meow allowed Zuh Dai to tread a more adventurous route. “I impulsively bought myself a sewing machine. It was a fun and exciting piece to make for sure,” she shares. “Meow was a piece built on gigil (grit and thrill).”
“I actually had a nice conversation with a collector during MoCAF and they asked me, ‘How do you know if your piece is truly finished?’ The question resonated with me. It is the core of how I create my works,” she shares.
The two works Zuh Dai made for the festival stemmed from the same art that she made a year ago. “It made me realise that my art is never truly finished, even if the physical pieces may be,” she realises. “But the art itself continues to grow and create new works, creating branches of inspiration—creating new pieces from it. And the pieces I made for MoCAF reflected that beautifully.”
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The everyday life of an artist isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. Hardships do greet them from time to time as well. For Zuh Dai, it’s in the image of time. “I’m a Boholana. My family is in Bohol. With the career that I am in, I need to be where the art is. So I haven’t been able to go home as often as I would like and I do miss my family dearly.”
It also pains her when her pieces do not receive the same amount of love and care that she gives them. Last August 1, 2023, she posted on Instagram that one of her artworks returned broken and in pieces. “It was heartbreaking to see my art that was clearly not loved. They are meant to be cared for by soft and loving hands. That’s the beauty of what I create. It truly saddened me for it to arrive home in the condition it was in.”
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Still, she appreciates the silver linings of her passion: the mentors, the friendships, the conversations, the stories, and the love. “You get to learn so much and see the world from different perspectives. You get to answer questions you never once thought of, and find answers to questions you never seem to have an answer for. It’s the people you meet, through your art. That makes everything worth it.”
She further adds, “You get to know yourself a little bit better in the process too.”
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Zuh Dai prides herself on being honest, and she feels that’s the only way an artist can truly enjoy what they put out.
Ignore the market, ignore the demands. Just create what you honestly want to make. And it will be the strongest truth that you can share.
Through her craft, she learns how to love what she hates and to find beauty in mistakes. Like any other artist, she revels in experiencing the little things that would challenge her further. And with this thought, she leaves some advice to younger, aspiring artists: “I’ve met too many people that are too conscious about their branding, their style, and I was once like that. But I say ignore it. Just do what you want to do. Eventually, you’ll realise that style or branding is really just a reflection of your truth.”
Credits
Images: Zuh Dai
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Angela Nicole Regis Guiral is a digital editor at Tatler Philippines. She studied journalism and has since written features that look closely at how culture, lifestyle and social impact converge, while occasionally wandering into the worlds of style and travel.
