Dreamscapes: Publishing Residency Book Launch & Exhibition
Participating Artists: Chenxin Luo, Chenyi Luo, Xinyi Yang
This exhibition was highlighted as a part of Art in DUMBO’s Insider’s Tour for their First Thursdays Gallery Walk. Featuring the launch of two books: Twin Size by Chenxin and Chenyi Luo, and Strange Hill by Xinyi Yang. Created during their publishing residency at lucky risograph, each narrative blends personal vignettes with a touch of surrealism and is handmade from start to finish in lucky risograph’s studio.
Twin Size by Guesswho Studio: Twin Size is a series of illustrations that explores the intimate, everyday world of twin illustrators. These drawings capture the quiet and loud moments that resonate between two closely connected individuals: the rhythm of a shared laugh, the echo of an argument, the imagined creaks of bedtime fears, the pulse of music during a midnight dance, or the near-silence of simply existing side by side. In this visual diary, sound is never directly seen—but always felt. Twin Size invites viewers to “hear” the inner soundscape of twinhood through delicate lines and atmospheric scenes.
Strange Hill by Xinyi Yang: Strange Hill is a comic that is based on a true story of when Xinyi went to visit her grandpa’s grave in the hills behind her family home, but got lost—and how her dog, Toto, 🐕 found her and brought her home to safety.
Read more about the artists process below in their interview with Chenyang Nie.
Doubled Yet Distinct: A Dreamlike Diary in Blue
September 22nd, 2025 | Interview & Article Written by Chenyang Nie
Step into the world of Guesswho Studio, and you’ll find that beneath their soft, dreamlike visuals lies a profound meditation on coexistence and difference. In their risograph projects completed during our residency, twin illustrators Chenxin Luo and Chenyi Luo created what feels like a quiet diary of duality — a visual reflection on the intricate dance of being together, yet individual.
During the residency, alongside a cohort of fellow artists, they completed two projects: a postcard series and books. Despite having little prior experience with risograph printing, they quickly grasped the technical language of the medium and, more importantly, infused it with their distinctive narrative sensibility.
“We felt that risograph’s vivid, sometimes neon colors and textural qualities were a perfect match for the Dollhouse Dreams series,” they shared. The series, which explores surreal domestic spaces through the lens of twinhood, has already been exhibited in New York, Paris, and London, and featured in major art publications. Rooted in the concept of being “doubled yet distinct,” their work explores how two individuals can occupy the same world while offering entirely different perspectives.
The file preparation phase was both challenging and rewarding. Decisions around color separation required constant experimentation — at times, even frustration — but each mistake yielded unexpected beauty. What was initially a simple black outline, under the suggestion of their mentor, was reimagined in metallic ink, resulting in a shimmering softness neither of them had anticipated. “Sometimes a slight misalignment is exactly what brings the image to life,” they said.
For the book project, they drew inspiration from a unique binding sample at Lucky Risograph. Through long conversations with their mentors, they conceived a stream-of-consciousness artist book co-created from start to finish. The imagery moved fluidly between memory and imagination, logic and intuition. Symbolic characters emerged — extensions of their identities and temperaments — and through these characters, they captured the subtle, shared moments of twin life: arguments, reconciliations, silent companionship, journaling side by side.
Blue was chosen as the project’s dominant hue — “a quiet color,” they said, “with a slight sense of detachment, yet full of warmth.” The graininess and layering of the risograph gave the pages a tactile intimacy. Even the imperfections — a blur here, a shift there — became pauses in a conversation, moments that felt real, unedited, and deeply human.
For Chenxin and Chenyi, the residency became more than a technical exploration — it was a continuation of their lifelong dialogue. They captured the glimmers of their shared life and sealed them into paper using a process that is both mechanical and poetic. These works feel like a dream diary written together — a tender archive of how they live, grow, and listen alongside each other, always doubled, always distinct.
The Hill, Toto, and the Whispering Blue: Xinyi’s Tale
September 22nd, 2025 | Interview & Article Written by Chenyang Nie
If you’ve ever wondered how deeply a little dog can touch your heart in a world of layered shades of blue, Xinyi Yang’s Strange Hill offers a quiet, comforting answer. This graphic novel, completed during her residency, tells a tender story about her and Toto — the loyal dog who once kept watch over her childhood home in the countryside. This brave little soul, Toto, leads lost Xinyi safely out of the mysterious hill. The book is a gift — to her past, and to herself.
Illustrator Xinyi Yang has discovered a poetic harmony between the mechanical textures of risograph printing and her own gentle, introspective visual language. Through the riso’s signature halftone dots, soft misalignments, and grainy overlays, she evokes memories — the kind that blur at the edges yet linger with clarity in the heart. The rustling of leaves, the whistling of cold wind, the moss-covered paths — these eerie, quiet fragments unfold layer by layer, not only on paper, but within us. It is also through these dreamlike imperfections that risograph captures a subtle, invisible sense of fear.
Xinyi earned her undergraduate degree in Communication Design from Pratt Institute and recently completed her MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay at the School of Visual Arts. Over time, she discovered that her most powerful storytelling didn’t lie in epic plots, but in the quiet weight of everyday life — in fleeting fragments and textured memories. Her love for architecture, antique furniture, and all things serene and classical breathes through her illustrations: restrained yet deeply resonant, gentle yet unshakably grounded.
The residency was, for her, a return to the self. Over several months, she immersed herself in risograph printing — layering colors, testing papers, and embracing the imperfections of the process. It was here that she learned to let go of control, and instead let emotion guide her hand. Between the mechanical and the emotional, between ink and memory, she completed her first graphic novel.
And Toto — that small, steadfast dog from her past — became the guardian of her inner world, rendered in soft shades of teal, mustard, and indigo. In this risograph realm of blue hues and quiet grain, he is a subtle but enduring presence — a gentle beacon for readers, just as he once was for her.
“When people read Strange Hill, I hope they focus on Toto,” Xinyi says with a calm but certain gleam in her eyes. You can tell — she hopes to share more stories like this: not loud or dazzling, but rich in the kind of quiet, intimate details that echo long after the page is turned.
About Guesswho Studio
Guess Who is a dynamic twin creative team based in New York City formed by Chenxin Luo and Chenyi Luo. As graduates of Pratt Institute, the duo brings a fresh and innovative perspective to the fields of illustration and graphic design, infusing their work with a unique blend of individuality and collaboration. Their artistic journey is deeply rooted in their shared experiences as twins, allowing them to explore themes of identity, connection, and the complexities of human relationships through their creative practice. With a focus on capturing the nuances of interpersonal dynamics, their illustrations often depict the delicate balance between closeness and independence, reflecting both their personal bond and a broader exploration of human connection. At the heart of Guess Who’s work is a passion for storytelling and a desire to connect with audiences on a deeper level. Through their art, Chenxin and Chenyi invite viewers to reflect on their own relationships and the invisible threads that bind us all together.
About Xinyi Yang
About the Artists: Xinyi (pronounced Shin-yi/欣怡) is an illustrator currently based in New Jersey. Her work explores psychological landscapes through a sense of tranquility and nostalgia. She likes to use paper textures and delicate pencil strokes, like a soft meringue melting on the tongue, allowing the audience to take it in slowly. She graduated from the SVA MFA Illustration program in 2025, and her work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators, World Illustration Awards, and Communication Arts.