July 11, 2023

More than 40 pieces of art line the walls of the Museum of Life and Science’s 30×30: Art, Nature, and Science exhibition, and we are honored to introduce you to a few of the artists. The exhibit is open through July 16 and entry is included with Museum admission.

Meet Ina Liu, a visual artist specializing in paint and graphic design with a background in public health, and the creator of Yin Yang (acrylic on canvas). Read more about her here!

Please share a little bit about yourself as a person and artist.

I am passionate about leveraging art for advocacy and equity, with key projects completed with the World Health Organization, UNC Asian American Center, and other social justice organizations. As an Asian American female, my work also centers on working with my community to create art that authentically shares their stories, with a goal to advocate and create belonging for my community.

What drew you to 30×30: Art, Nature, and Science?

I was very drawn to the 30×30 exhibition because I believe in the message and advocacy efforts to protect our earth. My past experience has leveraged art in advocating for social justice issues and this aligned very well with my philosophy as an artist.

How does your piece, Yin Yang, showcase art, nature, and science?

Yin yang is a cornerstone in Chinese philosophy where nature is concerned and emphasizes the need to find balance in being able to preserve the connectedness within nature. Despite the fact that yin and yang may seemingly depict contrary and oppositional concepts, if one looks closely at the painting, the stars, water, birds, and sky are all developing into each other in a constant cycle. A small spectator watches the connectedness of nature unfold, representing the small but significant part humanity plays in a greater context of respecting and preserving nature.

Please share some insight into your process behind making Yin Yang.

I wanted to highlight the theme of connectedness despite being so oppositional. I have observed that while our society faces stark differences in their views of climate change’s threat and the ways to preserve our world, connectedness and the need to recognize that we must come together to protect our home is important now more than ever. As an Asian American, my body of work encompasses influences from East Asian art through a lens molded by my Chinese ethnicity and American upbringing. As such, I decided to use the yin yang concept to highlight our relationship with nature. However instead of the typical yin yang figure one is usually familiar with, I wanted to depict the symbol “opening” up to show the connectedness of everything, even if on the surface it seems oppositional.

Is there anything else you’d like our visitors to know about your piece, process, or the intersection of art and the global conservation movement?

My hope is that 陰陽 (Yin Yang) can elicit and instill a sense of balance and connection with nature and with each other, in the hopes to move forward in protecting our home.

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Be sure to check out Ina Liu’s pieces and all the works in 30×30: Art, Nature, and Science now through July 16. Visitors are also invited to cast their vote for their favorite piece! The winner of the Visitors’ Prize will be announced at a later date, so click here to make your choice.

The exhibit is located on the first floor of the main building next to Gizmo Garage and is open during Museum hours.