Pixie Liao was born in Shanghai, China and is currently based in New York having studied photography at the university of Memphis. “Experimental Relationship” was photographed next to her Japanese boyfriend, Moro, whom she met at university. At first, she began taking playful portraits of him and later she enrolled herself into the photographs, embarking on a fruitful and collaborative, visual journey.

The main emphasis of “Experimental Relationship” is that scenes in the images reflect the roles in their relationship, in which Liao typically plays the dominant part. By subverting gender power stereotypes, Liao is visually breaking the relationship model, demonstrating a refreshed dynamic. The tenderness with which Liao’s photographs are made is evident in their soft colours, natural lighting, sparse backdrops and subdued clothing (if present). The simplicity of the composition strengthens the gaze towards the enactments that take place within the frame as well as the dead-pan, yet captivating expressions that Liao gives to the camera.

This on-going series has been evolving over the past twelve years and sharply rises up at a time when gender roles fluctuates and traditional codes are questioned. In addition to this, Moro is five years younger than Liao. In China, this is less common, as women are expected to marry older men and therefore be ‘mentored’ by them. However, in the U.S.A., Liao feels completely free, having grown up in a country where thoughts are commonly oppressed, she was able to question and visually answer her position as a female artist, exposing vulnerability and dependency.

At the beginning of “Experimental Relationship” the images were created solely in their Brooklyn apartment, but after eight years Liao inevitably became tired with the one location and so she added a new layer to the series by changing locations and noting down interesting places that she came across during their travels which could serve as a backdrop for her work.

Liao’s first photobook, ”Experimental Relationship Vol.1 2007-2017”, was nominated the Arles Prix du Livre award, and is one of two nominations published by Jiazazhi – a Chinese publisher gaining global recognition for its work with contemporary Chinese photographers. It’s now on it’s third edition. A selection of solo shows includes ‘Your Gaze Belongs to Me’ at fotografiska, Tallin, Estonia and Fotografskia, Stockholm, Sweden as well as “Choose Your Own Adventure” at SCOPE Honnover Biennial, Honnover, Germany and “Experimental Relationship (for your eyes only, or maybe, mine too)” at Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Vancouver

Images new work Pixy Liao