Wentao Liu

About Wentao Liu's practice:

Wentao Liu’s ongoing photography project, “Hovering,” is a profound visual exploration of East Asian identity and its representation. The artist attempts to reveal the spiritual waver and political struggle experienced by the masses within contemporary East Asian society, including mainland China, Hong Kong, and Korea (Jeju Island).

Through poetic photographs, the project documents not only the inhabitants’ living circumstances but also their spiritual world and methodological approach, demonstrating the evolution of the concept of East Asianness. Liu consistently focuses on objects possessing unique Asian features (Wabi-sabi), such as a dying tree, a lonely bird, or a contemplative woman. Fading things and loneliness are central motifs in his work.

To connect his contemporary documentation with a cultural legacy, Liu employs a meticulous technique: he bleaches gelatin silver prints with an oxidizing agent to achieve a vintage effect, echoing the enduring nature of East Asian aesthetics. This style intertwines the aesthetics of mourning and stillness with compassion and empathy, rendering a haunting presence and a lingering nostalgia that ceaselessly echoes in the innermost being of East Asians.

See more of Wentao's work in Issue #1 of ART MAKER Magazine, available for purchase here.

Wentao Liu, Black Horse, 4.72 x 7.08 in, toned gelatin silver print on paper; Wentao Liu, Diving, 4.72 x 7.08 in, toned gelatin silver print on paper. Images courtesy of the artist.