2009 - 2010

41

41 is a diaristic account of Liu’s intimate personal relationships. Reflecting upon one recent relationship in 2009, Liu recognized it as a culmination of emotional connections that had led to a particularly profound bond. The spine—a common trope in Liu’s body of art work—here signifies the link between these connections. It functions as both a literal and metaphorical symbol for ways in which the human body and the spirit retain traces of past experiences. Liu’s careful embroidery of the spine on paper offers a tactile, hand- crafted element that complements the autobiographical references contained within the meaning of the work. Similarly, the collage mount exists as a literal accumulation of material remnants in place of the physical and spiritual ones that comprise our beings. The embroidered characters in the lower right are Chinese numbers that allude to Liu’s Chinese heritage and denote each year of life, similar to rings in a tree.

Written by Dr. Jennifer Field