Social Media Circle · Digital Life No. 05

Begun in the second half of 2015, Social Media Circle draws on videos circulating through WeChat. Liu Qiming downloads videos shared outside official news channels and brings them together in a single-channel work; screenshots provide the source material for paintings.

The video begins with a single image. More images gradually appear until the entire screen becomes a moving video mosaic. Speech, initially clear, builds into overlapping voices and finally indistinguishable noise. The paintings borrow the shape of smartphone app icons to create what the artist calls ‘familiar strangeness’.

In his statement on the series, Liu questions the apparent freedom of exchange on these platforms. He describes it as a ‘freedom chosen for us’ and considers how the sheer volume of information can sweep people along, weakening independent judgment and a sense of self.