Discrete Figures
‘Discrete Figures’ unites the performing arts and mathematics in a dramatic exploration of the relationship between the human body and computer generated movement (simulated bodies) born from mathematical analysis. As an additional layer of complexity, the performance piece utilizes drones, A.I., and machine learning in the quest for a new palette of movement to foster undiscovered modes of expressive dance that transcend the limits of conventional human subjectivity and emotional expression.

Anomy, for U.S.and Mexican News
Anomy, for U.S.and Mexican News uses news media RSS feeds in real time in combination with data sanitization and sound synthesis algorithms in order to create visual displacement and generate a non-linear musical score. Through immersion, adjacency, perpetuity, uncertainty, and content in real time, it offers a contemplative experience with mass media, censorship, and language in contemporary society. Information containing the letter “e” in news briefs from eleven different sources in English and Spanish will be redacted—each triggering a musical note. Inspired by lipogrammatic literature and concrete poetry, this piece uses the lipogram to call attention to subjectivity and control in mainstream news media. The result is both a rhythmically diverse sound piece and a visual document that continuously evolves along with the flow of information published by Mexican and American news outlets.

Weight of insomnia
With his new series of paintings, Liu uses a machine programmed to capture movement in public spaces and translates this to marks on canvas. The machine has no heart, no desires, no ulterior motive. It does not sleep but obeys its instructions for as long as the artist decides. And yet the results have a strange power to move us. It seems that, despite all efforts, subjectivity can never truly be extinguished. Join Liu as he discusses this latest painting project, the conflict and changes in Chinese society that have influenced his artistic approach and how we might all be affected by the ‘weight of insomnia’.