Great Shot: Yijun (Pixy) Liao

Intimacy will improve your relationship © Yijun Liao


Pixy Liao's Experimental Relationship series deals with many elements that have played crucial roles in the relationship that she has with her boyfriend.  Issues of age, ethnicity, and gender roles seem to be the driving force behind these perfomative photographs.  More than photographs, they are experiments that she is conducting and documenting.  I really admire how she is able to photograph something that is so personal, so intimate, and so difficult to do.  I've personally tried to photograph past relationships and it's never worked.  Although she does it in the most literal way possible, I think she is able to speak of more than just relationships.  The work speaks of all of what relationships could be if you stray away from the normal parameters that society sets.  Through her use of titles, she adds another element to the images and their meaning.  

The photographs are all taken with a cable release by her boyfriend, Moro.  I find it interesting that she is older than him and in control of the relationship, and yet he is the one who has the control over the camera and whether the image gets taken or not. (Food for thought)
 
Check out more of Pixy's work here:
http://www.bloodypixy.com/photography/experimental-relationship/

pornographic colors ©Joshua Ramirez

The work that I usually make revolves around the ideas of memory, the self, and the perception of things.  I made this image over the summer, feeling that it contains a versatile mix of all three of my conceptual interests. The distortion and colors add to the layering of the image and the abstraction that it possesses.  I was inspired by the spontaneity that took over me and drove me to take the image.  This image is unlike anything that I have done with my imagery. Relying on the use of text and titles is also something new that I want to try out.  I feel that the use of text adds an entirely new layer for the viewer to experience.

I'm very interested in working like this throughout the year in hopes of finding a comfortable zone with my work.  I feel that I can approach, embrace, and comment on the practicality that can come with the medium. I'm always interested in experimenting with making images and I feel that it's a blessing and a curse.  It allows me to try different things, but it also strays me away from being zoned in on one single interest.

I'm inspired by the works of Jessica Eaton, Taisuke Koyama, and Jason Lazarus.  I find their use of color and abstractions to be remarkable.  I think that Jason Lazarus' imagery and use of text and titles add so much depth to his work, both visually and conceptually.