ChongYan Liu

Lives and works in Paris, France

Artist statement

Artist general statement It may seem naive to admit, but only recently have I begun to truly grasp the extent of the problems that face us on a global scale. It was not until I arrived in France—at the age of 21—that I started to feel the invisible effects of so many compounded elements become tangible. The contradictions of quotidian life and the absurdity that I had to treat as if not absurd profoundly impacted me. The impossibility of ostensibly functioning systems, of equal rights for all, of Brexit, of the epidemic, all slunk up behind me; as if all these occurrences had morphed into one elongated nightmare. I used to believe this level of naivety would be considered foolish by those already adjusted to the world's ways. But perhaps a delay in my ability to readjust was down to a change in my geographic location; maybe I see things more clearly now that I have left the place where I was born - Mainland China. When I participated in one of the demonstrations against the "global security law" in Paris, although I wanted to show my presence and reveal my support for the local cause, something prevented me from doing so. Uneasiness surrounding the legitimacy to fight within my host country became interspersed with an awareness of the inequality and omnipresence of surveillance in my native land – both prominent sociopolitical issues. The gulf between the problems in France and China has caused me to become apathetic. When is the right time to act? How should we begin? Is...

Artwork