Paris Internationale 2024

The 9/11 attacks were a significant blow to America’s efforts to impose global order, ushering in an era where terrorism became a common threat worldwide. However, this event also marked a turning point in U.S.-China relations, laying the groundwork for China’s rapid rise. Liu Yefu, by a twist of fate, experienced both sides of this momentous event, shaping his deeply skeptical and increasingly nihilistic worldview

Magician Space is proud to present Liu Yefu’s solo exhibition, “NO EASY SYMBOLISM,” at Paris Internationale, featuring works created between 2014 and 2023 across China and the United States. Spanning themes from China’s foreign policy shift from “hide our capabilities and bide our time” to the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, from 9/11 to the Russo-Ukrainian war, and from Elon Musk to a Northern Chinese farmer. The exhibition critiques ideologies that promise utopian futures. Liu holds particular disdain for cosmopolitanism, which he sees as thinly disguised expansionism under the pretext of humanitarianism. His work, laced with black humor, juxtaposes good and evil through provocative montages, exposing the storm of political intrigue and public discourse swirling beneath the surface.

“NO EASY SYMBOLISM” seeks to expose the stubbornness of ideology and the inherent complexity of human nature, especially how violence often transcends these ideological frameworks. Liu Yefu once believed that artists were as radical as they claimed, but now he acknowledges that more perilous forces have taken their place. In response, his focus in recent years has shifted toward the study of Oriental culture, particularly traditional cultural views that see aesthetics as a path to transcendence. This philosophy suggests that by redirecting personal desires into spiritual and aesthetic cultivation, the conquest of the self can replace outward acts of violent expansion.

About Artist

Liu Yefu (b. 1986 Beijing) is a Manchurian video artist and ink painter. By creating dramatic scenes, combined with hand- made props in line with fictional plot, Liu’s work mapping the ideology and stereotypes brought by history, nationality, and memory. He uses sarcasm to expresses his disappointment, anger, helplessness towards reality, and his joy as a bystander.

Liu’s solo exhibitions including: No Easy Symbolism (10th Paris Internationale, upcoming), Fool’s Paradise (Beijing, 2022), Hehemeimei, (Basel, 2021), No Easy Symbolism (Beijing, 2018). His works have been exhibited at global institutions such as: 4th BIENALSUR (Buenos Aires, 2023), 25th Gabrovo Biennial for Humor & Satire in Art (Gabrovo, 2022), Tai Kwun Contemporary (Hong Kong, 2019), Gene Siskel Film Center (Chicago, 2019), OCAT Museum, (Beijing, 2018), He Xiangning Museum (Shenzhen, 2017), Le Carreau du Temple (Paris, 2017), Ullens Center of Contemporary Art (Beijing, 2017), YUZ Museum (Shanghai, 2016), Vox Populi, (Philadelphia, 2014) among others. His work published on Do it, China 2021, edited by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Cao Dan. Liu is the nomination of Han Nefkens Video production grants (Barcelona, 2022), Balois Art Prize (Basel, 2021), Huayu Youth Award (Sanya, 2016) and he is the finalist of Toby Devan Lewis MFA Fellowship (Baltimore, 2014).