Q&A with Virginia Liu (Jingyi Liu)
Virginia Liu (Jingyi Liu) is completing her MFA in Visual Art in 2026 and showing work in the cohort’s thesis exhibition, “Apparition.” In this Q&A, she shares insight into her thesis project, path to becoming an artist, and more.
Briefly describe your thesis project. What themes are you exploring, and in what mediums/with what materials?
My thesis explores identity as a fluid, process-based condition shaped through migration, fragmentation, and continual negotiation. Rather than treating identity as fixed, I approach it as something assembled over time through memory. Working across painting, textiles, and mixed media, the work blurs boundaries and creates soft, unstable edges, reflecting the ongoing becoming of identity.
What do you hope someone feels when they experience your work?
I hope viewers experience a sense of being in-between, where boundaries are softened and remain open. The work invites them to recognize identity not as something fixed, but as something continuously unfolding.
What has been surprising as you’ve worked on this project?
What has surprised me most is how much the materials themselves resist control and begin to lead the process. I initially approached them as tools to express an idea, but over time, layering started to generate its own logic, often disrupting my intentions. This unpredictability revealed that the work is less about representing identity and more about enacting it: a negotiation between control, where meaning emerges through process rather than being predetermined.
What was your path to becoming an artist like?
Growing up in China and later relocating to Texas, I became aware of cultural identity not as something fixed, but as something constantly shifting and negotiated. I began to explore how it forms through layering, fragmentation, and interaction. My practice developed gradually through this process of navigating between cultures, materials, and ways of seeing.
If you could go back to your first day in this program, what would you tell yourself?
I would tell myself to let go and fully embrace uncertainty. “Not knowing” is not an unsafe condition; instead, it’s where the work begins. Trust the process, allow things to unfold, and don’t rush to resolve everything too quickly. The ambiguity, the instability, and even the moments of doubt are all essential to finding your own language.