by ChongYan Liu, China, France 2018, 7'
Presented at Lo schermo dell'arte 2021 in occasion of the exhibition Thinking Beyond – Moving Images for a Post-Pandemic WorldThe film is part of VISIO – European Programme on Artists’ Moving Images - 10th edition
Liu films a journey at night from inside the car. The fixed camera and the subjective shot record only the headlights illuminating the road, the noise of the vehicle and the pouring rain. During the journey, the artist retraces the physical traumas and memories of when she first had an abortion, reliving in an unfiltered stream of consciousness the doubts, fears and guilt of that moment. 19 offers a courageous and powerful reflection on the vulnerability of the female body and the needs and care it requires compared to the male body.
ChongYan Liu (1995, China. Lives and works in Paris) studied at The Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, and then moved to Paris to obtain a degree in Artists & Exhibition-related Careers, and a master in Fine Arts at École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. Her research is focused on personal narratives that the artist explores through a combination of moving images and texts. The use of extended long-takes in her videos allows to slow down and reflect on urgent topics currently at the center of the public debate, but strictly related to the artist’s private life, like abuses and familiar conflicts. Liu presented her works at Brunnenstraße 45, Berlin; ENSBA, Paris; Collectif Jeune Cinéma, Paris; Les Yeux Ouverts, Paris; Villa des Arts, Paris.