2026-02-28 14:42
When sadness turns into fine rain, memory transforms into ink; when old Jiangnan houses shrouded in mist reappear in the exhibition hall, one slowly steps into the world created by the artist amid an interweaving of reality and dream.
On November 7, ShanghART M50 launched artist Liu Yi’s solo project Leap, which marks the premiere of her long-prepared video work When I Fall Asleep, the Dream Comes.
Artist Liu Yi was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang. Old houses in the rain became a typical Jiangnan water-town image accompanying her growth. Childhood experiences often influence us in unfathomable ways. When rain-soaked old houses repeatedly entered her dreams, Liu Yi brought these images into her work, presenting memories and reality with blurred boundaries.
In Liu Yi’s latest ink animation When I Fall Asleep, the Dream Comes, the black-and-white tones, dim night lighting, and frame-by-frame animation make the rain-season old houses feel even more nostalgic. The flickering imagery contains no clear narrative, yet conveys traces of time and the illusion of dreams. The imagery of old houses in the ink animation also resonates with the character of ShanghART M50 — an old Shanghai factory space given new artistic presence.
Liu Yi extends the rainy-house atmosphere of the animation into the exhibition space using mechanical devices, imbuing the entire hall with the feeling of continuous Jiangnan drizzle. In the faint reflections of the swaying “rain threads,” viewers seem to enter the dream world she creates. Amid the interwoven rain, what extends is not only Liu Yi’s ink animation, but also each viewer’s inner homeland of dreams.
01 Entering the Dream: The Jiangnan Old House in Drizzle
Q: When I Fall Asleep, the Dream Comes creates a dreamlike world. Is this based on your own dreams? Can you tell us the story behind it?
A: I find myself entering the same dream more frequently. This state between reality and illusion feels unfamiliar yet subconsciously safe. In the dream, I clearly know I am dreaming and can even control it — like a parallel reality. But everything is shrouded in sadness. I believe this relates to a deceased loved one; I often hope to meet them again in dreams.
Q: The flickering ink imagery conveys emotional fluctuation and conflict between reality and illusion. Where does this come from?
A: I often wonder whether dreams are real or virtual. Why can’t reality be virtual and dreams real? Perhaps every dream is an experience of another self in a parallel universe. Animation also moves between truth and fiction. When frame-by-frame ink drawings move, visual persistence causes dream and reality to intertwine.
Q: The exhibition display includes spatial installations such as lightboxes. Can you share your thoughts?
A: The exhibition extends the animation spatially. Around 20 lightboxes are installed across the walls, each about 35×25 cm. Each contains two overlapping drawings, reflecting my drawing process. They also resemble sunlight entering old houses through skylights — creating a space both familiar and unfamiliar.
02 An Ongoing Experiment in Ink
In Liu Yi’s latest animation, each frame preserves the moist state of ink before drying, echoing dreamlike drizzle and tearful sorrow. Behind each animation are thousands of hand-drawn works and continuous material experimentation.
The semi-dry ink records subtle traces, aligning with the dream theme while expanding ink’s expressive possibilities and forming her artistic language.
Q: Why choose ink as your medium?
A: It relates to my Jiangnan environment and my exposure to ink painting at the China Academy of Art. Ink is culturally familiar and closely tied to nature. Its fluidity resembles drifting mountain mist. Its variability parallels dreams.
Q: Your work combines poetic Eastern aesthetics with mysterious emotional tension. Why?
A: Traditional ink painting follows strict systems, but I prefer experimentation. The moist visual effect comes from scanning ink before it dries — capturing the interaction of ink, water, and paper. This aligns with sadness: when our eyes fill with tears, the world appears blurred and trembling.
03 Seeing Ecology Through Art
Liu Yi has extensive cross-disciplinary collaboration experience, using art to explore ecological relationships.
Q: Can you share memorable cross-disciplinary experiences such as Spring River Flower Moon Night and Fishing, Woodcutting, Farming, Reading?
A: These works integrate dancers, stage, lighting, and animation, bringing art beyond galleries into public space. Unlike static exhibitions, stage works involve unpredictability and collaboration.
Q: Your Macau residency addressed marine ecology. How do you see art and sustainability?
A: The project responded to land reclamation and explored ocean mythology. Rather than directly addressing disasters, I offer a mythic perspective to rethink human–nature relationships.
Q: What defines an ideal collaboration?
A: Clear and direct partnerships, like my collaboration with Hennessy.
Q: Which artists influenced you?
A: My academic training focused on Western fundamentals and ink exposure. At the China Academy of Art, my mentor was Yang Fudong, who introduced contemporary artists and broadened my perspective. Later, I began independently exploring animation.
Related Artists: LIU YI 刘毅
Facebook
Instagram
WeChat 微信