Interview with Yijiang Liu by Bettina Pelz.
Published on 21 JUN 2025.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and tell us something about your artistic background?
My name is Yijiang Liu, and I am currently studying Fine Arts at the University of the Arts Bremen (HfK). My artistic practice involves the intersection of video, image and text. I am particularly interested in how both visual and written languages are interpreted, misread and transformed in the process of communication. My work often explores the fluidity of media and the shifts that occur when meaning is transferred across different cultural and linguistic contexts. Something I engage with deeply due to my own cross-cultural experiences.
What themes or questions do you generally deal with in your artistic work?
At the core of my work lies an inquiry into the symbolic function of media. I explore how materials and visual formats convey meaning, how they are encoded and decoded and how misinterpretations emerge in this process. I reflect on how images interact with individual experiences and how their meanings shift in the viewer’s perception. Furthermore, I consider the contemporary digital landscape oversaturated with images and question how we navigate truth, materiality and perception in such an environment.
How did you get involved in the FOOTNOTES project and what attracted you to take part?
I joined the FOOTNOTES project at the invitation of Bettina. What drew me in was not only the focus on media art but also the conceptual framework of the project. “Footnotes” suggests a supplementary, reflective layer to a primary narrative. Translated into an urban exhibition space in the center of Bremen, this idea takes on a new form. The project brings together artists from diverse backgrounds to collectively reinterpret the city and its spatial narratives. A process that resonates strongly with my interests in spatial semiotics and translation between media.
What is your contribution to FOOTNOTES?
For FOOTNOTES, I am developing a site-specific work that responds to both the curatorial concept and the spatial characteristics of the exhibition location. My piece aims to engage with the urban context and its latent narratives. In addition, I will take part in public programming during the exhibition, fostering dialogue between my work and the audience.
How does your work relate to FOOTNOTES?
My work proposes a new way of looking at urban landscapes and exhibition spaces. It raises questions such as: How do we perceive and decode images today? How are visual messages transformed or misread? In an era of digital saturation, how do we define what is “real” in an image and how is this reality tied to its physical presence? My piece invites viewers to reflect on these questions, challenging dominant modes of seeing and encouraging critical engagement with the visual world around us.