Liu, Sidian

Sidian Liu刘思典 often creates collaborative projects with her nearby community and spaces to explore the ways we interact with and experience one another as a society, as well as to create a sanctuary for self in unfamiliar spaces. She pulls from Chinese traditions, oral narratives, and personal stories to provide context to many of her projects, creating a bridge between her experiences in both Chinese and American societies. Sidian works in photography, performance, and installation to depict these visions of emotional solidarity and safe spaces amidst an unpredictable world. In her series titled The Conch Girl Project, Liu刘思典 photographs herself in stranger’s kitchens to reinterpret the Chinese myth of a conch turning into a woman or goddess to nurture a hardworking fisherman. She shifts its traditional meaning of women in domestic roles to the idea of cooking as an act of care for strangers in her NYC community.

Sidian Liu刘思典 received her BA in English at Shanghai International Studies University in 2019, and her MFA in Photography at Parsons, The New School in 2023. She was recognized in the Top 10 of 9th Annual Photography Rankings in China (2022), the top prize of First Female Photographer Competition by Miroir Project, (2021), and the top prize of Banshan Photography Award (2020).