B. Liu

“Simulacrum”

Expressive Form: Collection of Works

Artist’s Statement

This work explores the concept of the simulacrum, where constructed versions of reality replace the original, making truth feel irrelevant or forgotten. In a parallel world shaped by technology and social media, people become performers, applying filters and adopting personas to meet society’s expectations. The work captures a teenager caught in this cycle, gradually losing her sense of identity. As the portrait shifts from realistic oil painting to a blend of paint and photography, and finally to fully imagined digital art, the subject becomes increasingly uncertain of who she really is. Trapped in a flickering maze of online identities, she asks, “What version of self will I put on today?”, submerged in the very illusions she helped create.

Inspiration Artists: Mayao Miyazaki and ikuta41