Xin Liu (UK Associate) explores themes of gravity, gene sequencing, and cosmic metabolism in her dual role as an artist and engineer. Her work seeks to bridge the measurable and the ineffable, highlighting how science and technology extend beyond human perception while illuminating the deeply human moments that exist in our everyday lives. Through embodied storytelling, she creates moments that invite reflection on our post-metaphysical world.
During her residency at Delfina Foundation, Liu will focus on investigating the social implications of time-manipulating biotechnologies, exploring how they transform the future of life, death, health, kinship, labor, sex, capital, progress, and care. Her research will delve into the complexities of kinship, the health of family life, and mental crises related to reproduction, infertility, productivity, population control, and social welfare.
Liu is the Arts Curator at the Space Exploration Initiative at MIT Media Lab and an artist-in-residence at the SETI Institute. She also serves as an advisor for the LACMA Art+Tech Lab and conducts research at Antikythera, Berggruen Institute. In 2024, she participated in Rhizome’s flagship program, 7×7, and completed a residency at the Chao Center for Asian Studies at Rice University, where she was the first artist in residence.
Her latest solo exhibition, Seedings and Offspring (2023) at Pioneer Works, New York, examined the intersection of cryogenics as a narrative device for immortality in space travel and egg-freezing as an assistive procedure for women’s reproductive capabilities. Recent projects include Breath(e): Towards Climate and Social Justice at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2024); Open Sky at the Benton Museum of Art, Pomona College (2024); Sapporo International Art Festival: Last Snow in Sapporo, Japan (2024); Thailand Biennale: The Open World in Chiang Rai, Thailand (2023); Shanghai Biennale: Cosmos Cinema in Shanghai, China (2023); and At the End of Everything at Artpace, San Antonio, USA.
Liu has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the inaugural K11 Artist Prize, the Porches Chinese Young Artist of the Year (2021), and recognition as part of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Asia. She holds a Master’s in Media Arts and Sciences from MIT Media Lab, an M.F.A from the Rhode Island School of Design, and a B.E from Tsinghua University in Beijing.
Liu was born in Karamay, Xinjiang, China, and is currently based in London.
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