Artist challenges social conventions

To escape pressure from the expectations of her family - working a 9-5 office job, getting married and having kids, like many others, Pixy Yijun Liao came to the US to find her own path.

That self-searching has turned her into an artist, she said during a talk with curator and writer Barbara Pollack at the Asia Society Texas Center (ASTC) on Sunday in Houston.

A few pieces of Liao's conceptual photography are among the current exhibition We Chat: A Dialogue in Contemporary Chinese Art. It showcases 10 young Chinese artists, some based in China and others living abroad.

All of the artists were born after 1976. Their art offers a break from the past, looking toward a future that is rooted in internet culture and new media. Most importantly, raised in a period of rapid globalization, the young artists tend to focus more on their individuality rather than their cultural identities or geographic boundaries.

Liao, who grew up in Shanghai, first taught herself graphic design after realizing she did not enjoy working in an office. "Then I found that my creativity was controlled by others in a design job, and decided to go abroad to study photography."

At the University of Memphis, Liao met her current Japanese boyfriend five years her junior. Over the past eight years, she photographed herself and her boyfriend to explore the relationship between a man and woman.

"I was told such a relationship won't last because he's younger than me," Liao said. "I should find a man who is older than me and more mature. This is why I called this series Experimental Relationship. I want to show that alternative relationships can work. I also wanted to see how long my relationship will last," said Liao, now based in New York.

While exploring the intimacy and complexity of the relationship, Liao's work is strongly rooted in the power dynamic between man and woman. While refusing to label herself a feminist, her leaning toward female power is evident in pieces such as I Told You So, A Photographer and Her Muse, Massage Time, and The King under Me, where the woman is portrayed as the more dominant one. "I am pro female," Liao said.

Liao said that when creating art, she does not always think about her Chinese heritage. However, "my work is a result of my growing up as a female in China. I did not like wearing a dress; I played mostly with boys. My work is the result of my rebelling against the traditional Chinese culture. Some of my work comes from Chinese inspiration, for example, The King under Me is from the Chinese saying 'under one person but above ten thousand'."

When discussing her art style, Liao said that she doesn't believe there is one way Chinese photography should look. "I am Chinese, however I make it, it is Chinese art."

Liao said that her parents in China worry about her being a "starving artist" and that life would be hard for her.

"I don't find life hard; I enjoy what I do," she said.

mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com