YISHU
VOL. 22, ISSUE 104, MARCH 2025, P82-29
This article examines the cosmic narratives and interdisciplinary artistic practice of Chinese diasporic artist Xin Liu, who seamlessly integrates technology, cultural heritage, and space exploration in her work. Based on a conversation between the artist and curator He Yining in London, the essay traces Liu’s artistic trajectory from her inaugural work, Orbit Weaver (2017) to her latest project, The Permanent and the Insatiable (2024).
Liu’s practice is characterised by her unique position as both artist and engineer, drawing upon her educational background from Tsinghua University, Rhode Island School of Design, and MIT Media Lab. Her works consistently explore themes of spatial verticality, extraterrestrial exploration, and cosmic metabolism while challenging conventional representations of space explorers through her Asian female presence.
The article analyses four key projects that demonstrate Liu’s methodology of weaving local knowledge with personal experience. Orbit Weaver reimagines the traditional Chinese flying apsara (feitian) through zero-gravity performance, while Living Distance sends the artist’s wisdom tooth into space, connecting ancient Chinese folk customs with contemporary aerospace technology. The White Stone traces the opposite trajectory—following rocket debris from space back to Earth in western China—and employs Chinese narrative language to strengthen localised storytelling. Her latest work continues this exploration of permanence versus decay through biological reactors and genetic modification.
Liu’s artistic practice represents a significant contribution to contemporary art’s engagement with technology and cultural identity. By integrating Chinese cultural iconography with cutting-edge scientific research, she creates works that possess distinctly international qualities while maintaining deep roots in her cultural heritage. Her practice demonstrates how diasporic artists can facilitate meaningful dialogue between local cultural traditions and global technological advancement, offering new perspectives on humanity’s relationship with the cosmos in an age of rapid technological development.
The article positions Liu’s work within broader discussions of identity politics, cultural appropriation, and the representation of “the Other” in contemporary art, suggesting that her hybrid approach offers alternative models for cross-cultural artistic expression that transcend binary oppositions between self and other, tradition and modernity, local and global.