Red resonates deeply with us. It’s the hue of passion, anger, love, and life itself. It flares when we’re angry, it’s linked to risk—like red cars being statistically more prone to accidents—and in art, it often carries a higher price tag at auction. It’s a colour imbued with emotion.
I see all this when I look at the abstract photograph by Jaxi Liu titled ‘Inner Inferno’. It reminds me of the inside of our eyelids when we close our eyes against the sun or how the inside of the body is depicted in medical documentaries of babies inside wombs. It pulsates with energy the way the works of Victorian painter John Martin do when he paints a volcano erupting in one of his dark landscape paintings.
It entices us with its warmth but also repels us with its vivid colour. Jaxi is a London-based Chinese artist so it’s also important we don’t simply see these works through a Western lens as red symbolises luck and prosperity in Chinese culture.
Jaxi’s practice expands beyond simply one medium and we can see this difference in her installation ‘Enchantment’. It’s an enveloping installation made from recycled materials and brimming with texture – the jagged elements hanging from above, the soft outside drawing us into the plush centre.
There’s something dark and magical about this installation as if it could be out of the film Pan’s Labyrinth and we’d meet strange and fantastical creatures as we delved deeper into it. This installation is meticulously crafted from materials that have been gathered and
repurposed—discarded paper, newspapers, cardboard, recycled fabric, and other
remnants salvaged from waste bins. While this shows her commitment to sustainability it also transforms waste into wonder, reminding us that the magic we seek in art is already all around us, as long as there are artists like Jaxi to realise it for us.
Her work Blue Hour offers a lighter, more playful side to this same sustainable approach. Constructed from recycled materials, this installation feels like a whimsical blend of art and design – inviting us to view it through a window and explore all its angles and imperfections.
Switching back to photography, ‘Unbound’ presents us with an androgynous figure with their head in their hands – is this in ecstasy or excitement? Much like the gender of the sitter, the emotions are also ambiguous. While there is a more obvious element of asking us to be more accepting of others in a wider sense, there’s also a questioning subtext asking us to look inside ourselves as we all wrestle with who we are and where we belong in this world.
There is variety in Jaxi’s practice but what ties it all together is a sense of harmony that she explores through her creation of art and also encourages us to see through our consumption of it. A willingness to accept others for who they are, to live more sustainably and to also look inside and reflect on our emotions as an integral part of our identity even if they overwhelm us at times.
The famous Greek phrase, “Know thyself,” invites introspection, which can be achieved through visual art production and consumption. Jaxi Liu’s art is a part of that journey – an invitation to reflect, accept, and connect.
More information on Jaxi Liu may be found on her Instagram.
Excerpt: Sustainable art about belonging and acceptance.
