Crystal Liu: Remember When We Used to Dream
ko-an (‘ko,an) noun: a paradoxical anecdote or riddle used in Zen Buddhism to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and provoke enlightenment. Origin: Japanese, “matter for public thought,” from Chinese gongan “official business.”
The meanings of Crystal Liu’s enigmatic photographs unfold quietly — revealing, obscuring, gently teasing, delighting. Quotidian objects in domestic interiors become landscapes. Patterned wallpaper is the forest floor; a lace curtain, the falling night; spilled jam on a white tablecloth, a violent crime scene. Liu’s imagery is at first playful, then puzzling and ultimately provocative, as domestic narratives become metaphors for intimate relationships and private joy and tragedy.
Concurrently, Liu will exhibit related drawings at Hosfelt Gallery, New York, opening January 6, 2007.
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Crystal Liuin the dead of winter, 'landscape in my cupboard', 2005chromogenic print29 x 29 inches/73.7 x 73.7 cm -
Crystal Liuin the dead of winter, 'into the deep woods', 2005chromogenic print, digitally printed30 x 40 inches
76.2 x 101.6 cms -
Crystal Liuin the dead of winter, 'remember when we used to dream', 2006chromogenic print29 x 29 inches/73.7 x 73.7 cms
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Crystal Liuin the dead of winter, 'out of love', 2006chromogenic print29 x 29 inches
73.7 x 73.7 cms -
Crystal Liuin the dead of winter, 'the floor began to rumble', 2005chromogenic print29 x 29 inches
29 7/8 x 29 7/8 inches framed
73.7 x 73.7 cms -
Crystal Liu"In the dead of winter, 'When Night Falls'", 2005chromogenic print29 x 29 inches
73.66 x 73.66 cms -
Crystal Liu"In the dead of Winter, 'In the dead of Winter''", 2005chromogenic print
mounted on aluminum29 x 29 inches/73.7 x 73.7 cm -
Crystal Liuin the dead of winter, 'where the animal lives', 2005chromogenic print digitally printed30 x 40 inches
30 7/8 x 41 inches framed
76.2 x 101.6 cms
