SomoS presents from Wednesday, 23 October 2024 ‘Symbiotic Lens’, a solo exhibition featuring the mixed-media works of California-based Chinese-American artist and scientist Qinqin Liu, created during her residency in Berlin. Liu’s interdisciplinary approach combines her PhD in botany and ecology with her artistic practice, drawing on research in climate science, indigenous ecology and her personal history as a village artist during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. This diverse background enables her to create innovative and thought-provoking connections between art, science and culture.
Image above: Qinqin Liu, Symbiotic Lens, Courtesy of SomoS
Liu comes from a family of textile producers and his sensual and experimental works incorporate fibres, natural materials and the tactile interplay of colour and texture. Her collaged ‘tapestries’ integrate recycled urban materials with samples from Berlin’s natural environment, reinterpreting Humboldt and Heckel’s explorations of the ‘exotic’. However, it is the poetic and emotional depth of Liu’s work that comes across most strongly, as she attempts to connect ‘art, culture and nature with the human mind, heart and soul’ in response to the fragility of the environment. By drawing parallels between the microcosmic and macrocosmic, Liu’s work reveals a cosmic worldview in which everything is interconnected, urging us to feel the urgency of the global environmental crisis on a profound, visceral level.
Über Qinqin Liu:
Qinqin Liu, Ph.D., is an interdisciplinary artist and scientist whose work combines her background in botany and ecology with contemporary art. Educated at the University of California, Davis and Berkeley and the School of Visual Arts in New York, Liu’s artistic practice blends Eastern and Western traditions, combining Chinese calligraphy and ink painting with Western abstraction.
Her art is based on scientific research on biodiversity and climate risks and explores the fragile balance between humans and nature. She works in mediums such as ink, watercolour and collage and incorporates organic materials, including rice paper and found objects, to create works that reflect the emotional and ecological consequences of environmental change.
Liu’s art has been exhibited at prestigious institutions, including the Crocker Art Museum and California State University, and she has participated in numerous international residencies. Through her experimental approach, Liu challenges viewers to rethink their connection to nature in a time of environmental crisis.
WHEN?
Vernissage: Tuesday, 22 October 2024, 18:00-21:00
Exhibition dates: Wednesday, 23 October 2024 – Saturday, 26 October 2024
WHERE?
SomoS
Kottbusser Damm 95
10967 Berlin
COSTS?
Free entry
