Meet Tian Liu | A Multimedia Storyteller

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

Hi Tian, why did you pursue a creative career?
I have been passionate about storytelling since I was a kid. I used to draw stories for myself until I learned how to read and write. As soon as I learned, a door to a new world opened for me—I could share the stories and interpretations that existed only in my mind with others through writing. When I realized I could show people my inner world, I told my parents this was what I wanted to do: I wanted to become a storyteller.

Almost everyone I met as I grew up told me, “You have the talent, keep it.” I planned for so long to become a writer in Chinese until my father made me study in the States when I was in high school. The language barrier forced me to detour from my dream. The language of science and math was easier than English itself. Perhaps due to the stereotype of being Asian, I decided to study medicine as my parents did, and my preparation started in high school.

Decisions were always changed by ambition. I was still attracted to the dream of storytelling, so I dropped my pre-med major as soon as I entered college. Instead, I studied Journalism and Mass Communication, Studio Art, and Creative Writing. Everything was about creativity and storytelling. I also recently earned my M.F.A. from the California Institute of the Arts in Photography and Media.

I know I want my voice to be heard, and I want people to see what I see. Here is where I am now—I have become a multimedia artist, with practices including photography, moving images, performance, sculpture, installation, and writing. I put myself in all my works and wait to be read.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I call myself a multimedia storyteller rather than an artist because every piece of work I create carries parts of the stories I want to share with the world. As a Chinese woman artist, I am inspired by my living experiences between China and the U.S. My works delve into identity, belonging, and gender, challenging societal norms and exploring personal and collective stories. Through art-making, I capture the nuances of cultural and personal narratives, aiming to connect individual experiences with larger societal themes.

I am deeply connected with the strength of the women in the land where I was born. We share the same destiny; I am just a little bit luckier as a survivor who can speak to be heard. So when I see their vulnerability, trauma, and tears, I see myself.

In my recent solo thesis show, the two-channel video sculpture “fú píng” explores personal and collective memories, capturing the diaspora of women in China. It’s a video sculpture set in an intimate space, marked by a bed and an old-style Chinese mosquito net. It’s designed to make the audience feel the contrast between public space and personal narrative, highlighting the solitude and insignificance individuals may feel. The videos—one projected overhead like a fishbowl, the other on the net’s side like a window—invite viewers to lie down, then sit up, mimicking the action of waking up to reality and to women’s experiences of being treated as outsiders. In the video, I retell personal and familial stories, including my mother’s life story. Through personal footage and narrations, I explore themes of love, belonging, and the peculiar outsider status of women, bridging past and present discussions around gender and place.

To be simple, it’s a bed that everyone can lie down on and watch the video projection ongoing. I love to include minor interaction with my audiences in my works. In one of my previous works, I covered the floor of the space with white paper and installed my photo print on the ground, inviting my audiences to step on it. The photo print was of a One Child Policy slogan on a wall in China. Because there was red ink hidden behind the photo print, if the audience entered the space before the ink dried, they could walk around and create red footprints. Even if they came later, their dusty footprints were still captured by the white paper on the floor. I named this piece “Untitled.” When the photo was a documentation of a piece of history, the photographic installation was also a documentation of the space.

I also did public performances directly inviting viewers to interact with me, such as “Give Away.” I was inspired by my grandma’s and my cousin’s personal stories; both of them were daughters given away to other families. It was a shared destiny of the women in their village, who shared the collective memories of being victims of gender inequality. I used balloons as representations of infants, with red representing girls and black representing boys. I stood alone in the gallery, slowly blowing up each balloon I picked from a wooden box. I kept all the black ones and used black yarn to tie them to my body. I also kept the first red one, tying it with red yarn but leaving it on the floor. But whenever I got a second red one and finished tying it with the yarn, I would start to find people to make eye contact with in the space. Once we made eye contact, I would approach them with the second red balloon and a pair of scissors. It was their decision to decide what to do with it, and depending on their choice, they would receive a different message from me. If they decided to cut the yarn and adopt the balloon, they would get a piece of black paper printed with “Thank you for adopting my daughter” in both Chinese and English. If they decided to cut the balloon, they would get a piece of black paper printed with “Thank you for killing my daughter” in both Chinese and English. People wouldn’t know what their actions meant until I passed the message.

Because all my works involve trust in the viewers, the biggest challenge was how I could re-establish my trust after my work had been damaged by viewers I trusted. This happened once during my first solo show in LA in 2023. I can’t really say I have overcome it, but I learned how to accept the uncontrollable progression of social interaction. “Give Away” was created before the damage; “Untitled” was created after the damage. You can see I start to make the damage a part of the work itself.

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?
If it were a week-long trip, I would definitely include as many beach days as possible! I am a big fan of the ocean, and because I am so obsessed with it, I even went on a study abroad program on a ship during my undergraduate years. I spent almost four months on a ship while taking college classes, and I basically watched the sunrise and sunset every day. Santa Monica Beach would be the most convenient, but Laguna, Newport, and Malibu are also great choices. Due to the unpredictable weather by the sea, you might need to take several chances to really catch a nice sunset.

Recently, I have started rock climbing. Over the past few months, I have brought over ten people to the rock climbing gym. One great thing about LA is that we have so many good rock climbing gyms. It would be super fun to introduce them to the West Coast vibe through exercise.

As for food suggestions, I don’t have many, but I think in the affordable price range, I cook better food than most restaurants I can afford. So, I might bring them to In-N-Out, since it’s unique to California. But dining at home would also be a great option.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to give a shoutout to the first person who introduced me to the world of performance art, Melissa Airy. I also want to recognize my mentors and teachers: Abigail Collins, Sharon Lockhart, Andrew Freeman, Kaucyila Brooke, Rebecca Baron, and Tom Leeser. I thank them for their kindness, generous advice, and guidance throughout the last two years. Lastly, I want to thank my friends: Zoe Ze Zhou, JP Wang, Hu Di, Emiko Wilks, and Giada Jiang. Their support, mentorship, and encouragement have been invaluable to my journey.

Website: https://tian-liu-x.com

Instagram: tian_liu_photo

Image Credits
Installation Documentation by Tian Liu
Performance Documentation by Giada Jiang