Meet Keyi Liu | Multimedia Artist & illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Keyi Liu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Keyi, what do you attribute your success to?
For the art industry, perseverance in creation, learning to communicate with others, and keeping an open mind to other people’s comments are the three most important qualities that have influenced me the most and are also the most important factors behind an artist’s success, in my opinion.

At the same time, interest and planning are also important. Organizing our time and plans properly can keep us from missing out on some important opportunities.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m a multimedia artist and illustrator. Currently, I am traveling between New York and London for my art activities. I have explored many mediums, such as illustration, generative art, 3D art, installation art, and so on. My current projects are primarily focused on 3D art.

I think my specialty is visual design. I’m a very imaginative person. I see any sights in life, even a white wall, and I can instantly transform them into a fantastical space, so for me, this creative process is a constant source of inspiration; that’s what I’m most proud of. And I’m a goal-oriented person who doesn’t give up easily, which I think is very important in creating art because it’s not an easy journey, and when an artist has a good idea, they need to have the ability to turn it into a work of art.

The theme of most of my work revolves around the confrontational relationship between nature and rules. I have explored this theme in different mediums. For example, in the interactive installation “Forbidden Cage” that I designed in 2022, I used the imagery of spiders and cages to represent societal rules and installed ultrasonic sensors inside. The audience, representing free will, was included as part of this project. When the audience approached the spider, its limbs would wriggle frantically, imitating its hunting movements. At the same time, the cage above the spider would also open as if attempting to catch the audience and trap them into the rules and restrictions.

I also explored this topic in the VR project ‘Heavenly’ which I created in 2023. In this project, I create a virtual space set in the future and visualizing this confrontation as a 3D narrative animation. This project is inspired by the increasingly popular “consciousness uploading” topic. We often see this form of existence discussed in movies and literature. By uploading their consciousness into the virtual world, humans can break away from the physical body’s limitations and gain “immortality power”. Many idealize this form of life, believing that the virtual world of immortality can make up for the regrets of real life but ignoring its potential dangers. However, as long as society exists, regardless of its form, it will have limitations. The transformation of social forms cannot eliminate dilemmas but only transform them into another form of existence.

I think this confrontational relationship is an interesting topic because although they have a fundamental logic, they are not the same under different social contexts. This is why I keep exploring this topic.

For me, art creation is not easy. Every stage of art creation brings new bottlenecks and challenges, and this process is complicated. However, enduring through this period will lead to a noticeable improvement. This is something every artist continuously experiences in their studies and creations. Moreover, in this era of rapid technological advancement, it’s essential to engage with some new technologies, mediums, and perspectives to keep our art reasonable because art creation is not entirely based on imagination; it needs to be in the social context that people are living in so that it can resonate with the audience. Therefore, an artist should continue learning new things and selectively incorporating them into their art.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take her to different cafes where we could enjoy the sun while drinking coffee on the side of the road. Then, I would take her to art bookstores and exhibitions. For me, the best way to get to know a city is to explore its art and culture.

After that, I would also arrange visits to Universal Studios, the Hollywood Sign, Sunset Blvd, and Santa Monica, where we can enjoy the sun and entertainment together, to have a completely relaxing.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I think one of the most important periods in my life is that my two periods of study, undergraute school and graduate school, have significantly enhanced my knowledge of art creation. My undergraduate studies were in illustration at the School of Visual Arts(SVA) in New York, and my graduate studies were in interaction design at University College London(UCL).

At SVA, my major is under the Department of Fine Art. The courses were diverse and exciting, and SVA offered students different opportunities to explore creative mediums. Instructors there don’t define right or wrong but give students the freedom to express themselves. If studying at SVA pioneered my artistic style and mindset, my studies at UCL further developed and refined these ideas to be more logical. At UCL, my major is Design for Performance and Interaction. This program focuses on research skills, thus training my critical thinking. I also explored various technological creative areas at UCL, such as mechanical structures, interactive installations, and coding. Living and studying in these two countries provided me with experiences that helped me become a better artist and influenced my personality. Through this journey, I’ve embraced the diverse possibilities in my life and art creation. It has been an immensely beneficial experience for me.

Website: https://keyiliu-art.cargo.site

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edekiow

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keyi-liu1215/