‘Reflections 2’, when the selfie becomes art thanks to a careful and original minimalist composition, by Ziqian Liu

A simple mirror, a few objects (such as plants and fruits) and your own body are the elements that Ziqian liu need to create the photos of ‘Reflections 2‘, a series of striking self-portraits that show that selfies can also be art if you have talent, take care of the composition and (in this case) bet on minimalism.

Ziquian Liu is a Shanghai-based Chinese freelance photographer graduated from the Sydney University of Technology; curiously, he has only been dedicating himself to photography since 2018, although he has already exhibited his work in galleries in Paris, Hong Kong, London, Rome and Los Angeles, and practically all his production revolves around the self-portrait.

However, as can be seen, the author does not show his face and he does it because “once a face appears in the image, it does not matter if the facial features are beautiful or not, the viewer’s attention is directed to it first, and the other elements of the work are easy to ignore“.

Convinced that “body parts and plants are not as ‘tagged’ as faces“hiding his face gets that”the main character in the photo can be anyone, and each viewer will have a different vision of the work due to their different experiences, allowing them to participate in the work“.

So we can get our selfies to become good self-portraits

Also, it is interesting to know that take the photos alone, and it does so for the purpose of “slow down time, allow myself to blend in with the things that surround me, search and observe their changes“And it is that the idea of his photos is to serve so that the spectators”they can enter the little world that I have created, immerse themselves in the work and find a moment of peace. Second, through the works, I hope to show the external softness and delicacy of women and their inner strength.“.

If you are wondering how he takes the photographs, of course it must be said that the compositions are made in the camera itself: “I don’t edit the photos too much […] I only adjust the color and repair small defects, such as marks on the wall or folds in the fabric. In addition, I try to make my works as authentic and natural, so I only use natural light“.

Regarding the creative process, Ziqian tells us that “sometimes, I have the images in my head beforehand and at other times I improvise“. In the first case “Bringing what I have imagined into the real world is a very physically demanding process for me. First I attach the accessories and then adjust my own position and posture, to make sure that the mirror can accurately reflect what I expected; although sometimes there is a big difference between imagination and reality, and I have to change the original idea. The whole process is really difficult, but it is very satisfying to see the end result“.

The result is some photographs that show a “balanced state of peaceful coexistence between humans and nature“and that result beautiful while inspiring. Without a doubt, a great job for which we congratulate you and we thank you for allowing us to share.