KABUKI by Liu Chen
Vietnamese artist Liu Chen is the featured cover artist for ISSUE11 of Al-Tiba Art Magazine.
Liu Chen takes great inspiration from philosophy and ethnohistory as she enjoys putting literary devices into artwork, creating a layered and sophisticated look. She believes that the self is not singular but a fluid network of identities, so she never limits herself. She recently tried to demonstrate her versatility by using audio, art curation, and 3D art. Her works bring viewers a refreshing visual experience of a metaphorical method through self-storytelling.
The series KABUKI is featured on the front and back cover of Al-Tiba9 Art Magazine ISSUE11
Artist biography
Liu Chen is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist from Vietnam. She is finishing her last year at Foreign Language Specialized School, where she is interested in art. Although she has yet to declare a major, she’s considering graphic design or fashion design. After watching her parents run a fashion brand for years and trying different positions from assistant to director, she knew at a very young age that she also wanted to go into art. The artist herself has OCD from a young age; therefore, her works portray her variegated collection of questions/realizations in life. She had her digital triptych displayed in an art exhibition and on billboards in Ho Chi Minh City in 2021. Later, she joined an international organization for the youth and received professional training and art opportunities. Inspired by this uplifting experience that entirely changed her response to her dilemma as a hypersensitive person, she portrays her everyday struggles in a preternaturally beautiful way leading viewers to a positive outlook.
KABUKI
Through the novel lens of the youth, our project hopes to exploit the materials from the Japanese drama of Kabuki with a softer and subtler approach from the narrative point of Okuni - a woman who provoked the world’s cultural heritage to shed light on the human values and the pure yet hidden altruism.
Each photograph from the collection is a progressive stage in Okuni’s emotions: from the blooming hope during the early days of recognition, the bitter humiliation of blasphemy, to the soothing cure when she realized she could make fruitful contributions to the country. Neither Okuni nor the Onnagatas has taken precedence of their egos over the welfare of the nation, highlighting the unique feature of the Kabuki from the Land of the Rising Sun. Kabuki is also the reflecting image of who created it: a true artist having undergone a maturing process with many obstacles starting with an ordinary type of street entertainment that was criticized and banned irrationally. Yet, throughout the formation and existence of Kabuki, such inhibitions are perhaps essential to fabricating today’s courageous Kabuki.
Creative: Liu Chen & Khoai Phạm
Art & Photographer: Khoai Phạm
Model: Linh Chi
Makeup artist: Trang Emj
Hair Stylist: Vu Duong Vy Khanh
Stylist: Nị, Chiêm Trúc Anh, Irene Trang Pham
Costume: NTK Huỳnh Ân
Lighting: Cuastudio, Trần Ngọc Đăng Khoa
Assistant: Trần Ngọc Đăng Khoa, Thiện Vương, Tùng Phạm
