Tinghui Liu

Origin of Mark This work positions scribbling as a foundational visual language in which instinctive, unstructured marks gradually develop into deliberate form. Beginning with spontaneous gestures, the composition transitions into controlled linework, reflecting the movement from raw expression to articulated meaning. By reframing “mess” as the origin of communication, the piece emphasizes vulnerability, imagination, and the value of unfiltered beginnings in the formation of visual language.

Rhythms of Repetition This piece examines repetition through recurring triangular forms, where variation within sameness reflects processes of learning and transformation. Drawing from instinctive pattern-making, the work frames repetition as both meditative and generative. Subtle shifts across repeated forms reveal how rhythm, patience, and experimentation contribute to development, suggesting that meaning emerges through sustained engagement.

Temporal Guardian A winged rabbit appears as a symbolic figure navigating the tension between time, memory, and escape. Referencing childhood imagination and folklore, the figure embodies innocence and vulnerability, while its wings suggest a desire to transcend temporal constraints. Surrounding floral elements indicate shifting states of time, positioning the figure as both a preserver of fleeting moments and a participant in their release.

Negotiated Freedom This dreamlike composition brings together symbolic animals such as horses, doves, and butterflies to explore emotional energy, transformation, and the pursuit of freedom. While dream imagery suggests openness and imaginative flow, visual barriers interrupt the space, emphasizing the persistence of constraint. The work reflects how expression is shaped by both internal desire and external limitation.

Assigned Value Referencing childhood collections such as stickers, buttons, and small objects, this piece considers how value is constructed through emotional rather than functional logic. Vivid, scattered elements evoke attachment and memory, while layers of muted paint partially obscure them, symbolizing the imposition of adult systems that prioritize order and utility. The work questions what is diminished when subjective value is replaced by standardized measures.

Acts of Correction This work contrasts instinctive, freehand mark-making with controlled linework to examine the role of correction in shaping expression. Loose gestures reflect immediacy and openness, while refined forms emerge as interventions that impose order. The composition challenges the assumption that correction leads to improvement, instead considering what is altered or reduced when expression is reshaped to appear resolved.

Constructed Visibility A deer illuminated within a soft spotlight becomes a metaphor for the tension between visibility and performance. Rendered with precision against a more gestural environment, the figure reflects the shift from private expression to public presentation. Elements such as peacock feathers reinforce themes of display, while the surrounding abstraction suggests what remains unseen. The work examines how expression is selectively constructed.

Collective Field This concluding work removes hierarchy and focal structure, allowing layered marks and forms to coexist across the surface. Drawing from the collective nature of childhood play, the composition emphasizes movement, participation, and relational space. By bringing together spontaneity and precision without dominance, the piece proposes play as an enduring and shared mode of expression that persists beyond systems of control.

Where Play Persists