Pixy and Moro: public portraits of private life

Pixy Liao has been invited to present her ongoing long-term project Experimental Relationship at the 50th Rencontres photographiques in Arles, in the south of France. The series of photos is largely composed of portraits of Pixy herself and her partner and muse Moro.

Pixy Liao grew up in Shanghai, China, and went to the US for her advanced studies. She received an MFA in photography from the University of Memphis.

After graduation she moved to NYC and has stayed there ever since.

Her ongoing project Experimental Relationship began in 2007.

This exhibition was shown in 2018 in South China, at the Jimei x Arles photo festival where she received the Women Photographers Award.

This prize brought Pixy to Arles for the 50th Rencontres photographiques, with the topic "My body is a weapon".

In her work, she stages photographs with her Japanese boyfriend Moro.

"My work is about the relationship that I have with my partner Moro, for more than 13 years. The images, most of the time, it's both of us, self-portraits together. For me, my partner Moro is my muse. It's very natural for me to photograph him.

"Moro is very open minded and supportive of my work. He usually agrees with what I want him to do. Now he feels this is just like part of life. Like going shopping. This is an activity we do together.

"There's improvisation on his part and also he is the one who takes the picture."

Actually he clicks the shutter in a lot of the images so he can choose the moment when the picture is taken."

Pixy Liao' s inspiration comes from her daily life and also from classical art or mass media.

"The images that I'm interested in, I want to change them into something that belongs to me. So I make a photograph of it."