Maia Liu

video, installation, movie,Experimental, Documentary, Conceptual, Audiovisual, Artistic research

In my work I investigate the interplay between identity and relationality. The central question is: how free are you in forming your own identity, and to what extent is this limited or even defined by others? I question the Western link between freedom and individuality and wonder whether freedom can also be conceptualized separately from the individual.

A key discovery in my research is that freedom and friendship share roots in the Old Germanic word frî, which means both “free,” “beloved,” and “equal.” This etymological intertwining emphasizes freedom as a form of connectedness—an idea I try to make tangible in my work.

I consider film to be a 'practice of compassion': a means to explore the boundaries between self and other. By combining observation and self-reflection, the camera functions not only as an observer, but as an active, involved character that both creates distance and challenges the gaze of the maker.

My focus is on the routines and actions of people. These daily gestures and interactions form the context in which the camera moves, as a character that makes visible the tension between self and other. In this approach, a layered portrait of the relationship between the personal and the collective emerges.

Recurring themes in my work are (uncertain) identity, migration, friendship, and ethical dilemmas around manipulation and integrity. The tension between the own and the shared also plays an important role, as do the questions that arise at the boundaries of connectedness and autonomy.

**The Bodhi Tree in Bosch's Garden** - 'The Bodhi Tree in Bosch's Garden' is a film tracing the artist's exploration of her father's art archive made during the '90s. In her attempt to grasp the meaning of his notes and works, Maia relied on the cultural mediation of her best friend Yezi. Throughout their exploration, they encounter a series of peculiar absurdities. Yezi deeply resonates with both the work and the life story of Maia's father, whom Maia herself barely knows. This triggers a complex interplay of appropriation, projection, intimidation, and admiration among the three characters — the father's artworks, the daughter, and the friend. Their interactions form a composition, continually shifting by their perceptions of one another and the inherent gaps that emerge. Within this dynamic, the camera plays a crucial role as a fourth character, intensifying frictions between life and art, identity, migration and its disillusionments, anarchist dreams and institutional structures. in collaboration with Yezi Lin and the archive of Leopold Liu 40 min. (2024)

**Do You Need to Combine Yourself?** - An installation of sculptural works in which everyday objects and the human body are used to explore and deconstruct the tension between 'sameness' and 'similarity.' Installation at KIOSK, Ghent (2022)

(Do You Need to Combine Yourself) Nike Air Force 1 — **(Do You Need to Combine Yourself?) Nike Air Force 1** - A pair of shoes where the upperside has been peeled off and folded over the toe. (2022) 49x11x14cm and 49x11x14cm (variable arrangement) Photo by Lukas Neven

(Do You Need to Combine Yourself) Untitled — **(Do You Need to Combine Yourself?) Untitled** - A fork and a knife worked toward resemblance. (2021) Metal 21x2x0,5cm and 21x2x1cm (variable arrangement) Photo by Lukas Neven

(Do You Need to Combine Yourself) Not One Pair — **(Do You Need to Combine Yourself?) Not One Pair** - Two shoes of two different pairs, one from my pair (the right one) and the other found in the streets (the left one), painted toward resemblance. (2021) Acrylic and oilpaint on shoes 27x11x10cm and 26x11,5x10cm (variable arrangement) Photo by Lukas Neven

(Do You Need to Combine Yourself) Cross Eyed Sights — **(Do You Need to Combine Yourself?) Cross Eyed Sights** - Two cameras moving cross-eyedly over three still lives cut in half and put back together with the wrong half. 2min 55sec (2022) Photo by Charlotte Danielse

(Do You Need to Combine Yourself) How Not to Circulate Matter Together — **(Do You Need to Combine Yourself?) How Not to Circulate Matter Together** - An attempt to eat a sweet potato (with a fork and a knife that have been worked on to re-semble one another) with two hands simultaneously. Rather than work together, the hands mirror one another. Filmed with two cameras, one connected to each arm. 3 min 15 sec (2021) Photo by Jordi Coppers

(Do You Need to Combine) Echopraxia — **(Do You Need to Combine Yourself?) Echopraxia** - Two people having a conversation about a shown artwork (a pair of shoes where the upperside has been peeled off and folded over the toe). Two different people mimicking the first two people having a conversation about a shown artwork (a pair of shoes where the upperside has been peeled off and folded over the toe). 1 min 48 sec (2022) In situ work as part of the exhibition 'Two steps too far' in the Glazen Gang, KASK, Ghent Photo by Kristof Thomas

The Bodhi Tree in Bosch's Garden (film)

Date: 01-09-2023 t/m 01-11-2024

'The Bodhi Tree in Bosch's Garden' is a film tracing the artist's exploration of her father's art archive made during the '90s. In her attempt to grasp the meaning of his notes and works, Maia relied on the cultural mediation of her best friend Yezi. Throughout their exploration, they encounter a series of peculiar absurdities. Yezi deeply resonates with both the work and the life story of Maia's father, whom Maia herself barely knows...

This artist has no awards yet.