This blog is for me to talk about my work, show photographs of my work, post articles, websites, and pictures of inspiration, and to just talk about my experiences as an emerging artist.
I think an introduction of who I am would be a good start for this blog. My name is Caroline Liu and I originally grew up in a suburb of Chicago. I moved to Albuquerque, NM in 2006 and graduated from the University of New Mexico with a Bachelors in Studio Art in 2011. I've shown my work in several exhibitions in Albuquerque and Corrales, New Mexico in the past year.
I think by spending the majority of my life in a culturally void middle classed Midwest environment to living my adult life in an entirely new and culturally significant atmosphere have really impacted my views on art and how I express myself within my work. I take pride in who I have become here, but still take memories and experiences from my "previous" life and incorporate those life cues into the construction of my work.
My current work takes place through an investigation of personal narratives, histories, and experiences that are confined to the stagnant moment found in old photographs lost to the dusty boxes of antique stores. By purchasing anonymous photographs, it allows me to connect to past memories, experiences, and people seemingly 'locked in time', which spurs questions of where did they live, who did they become, and mostly, do they have any relatives that are aware that their image lives on for a small price?
I strive to create a sense of narrative in my work while also emphasizing the peculiarity and strangeness of purchasing individual portraits and little notations of individual lives. The strangeness produces a piece of the narrative that is unknown, unidentified, and unexplainable. In my work, there is no beginning, middle, or end. A focus on repetition, revision, and manipulation allow me to direct my attention to creating a space that also emphasizes character development and visual narratives that differ from the original context of the images. I re-invent places, physical attributes, textures, and people. I connect past and present ideas of history and memory.
Aspects of my own personal memories and experiences are subtly inserted into my work as well. It allows my work to become more personal without a direct understanding of what the found photograph, the revised and manipulated imagery, the new image, or my personal object is. My work allows viewers to question and understand the image within their own boundaries.
With 2012, I'm taking time off from getting a Masters Degree to work solely on my paintings, drawings, and embroideries to develop a concrete body of work.
I hope this blog is inspirational to you guys, but also helps me in my journey to becoming the artist I want to be.
