Flow

2021

Mixed Media

Approx. 160 × 150 × 200 cm

Zheyi Liu

Work Description

This interactive installation is brought to life through computer programming. As viewers walk by, the fish tails swing, and the lights on the girl's wings flicker. The artist's intention was to craft a surreal world that challenges conventional self-perceptions. The concept of self-identity often carries a weighty load of preconceptions and self-awareness, forming a sort of "safety net". The girl in the boat assumes a posture of self-protection and deep contemplation. When a person approaches, their consciousness seems to merge with the girl's, triggering changes that amount to a response to the external world. It conveys the longing to shed this net, to break free from both externally imposed and self-imposed concepts and realisations. The title of the work, "Flow", serves as both a noun and a verb, highlighting the incorporation of water elements within the piece. It also reflects the artist's philosophical contemplations on the power of the flow of water, embodying ideas such as "Using softness to overcome hardness" (idiom).