LIU Yujia’s latest projects are all related to the “borders” and the regions inhabited by the ethnic minority groups. She often gets her inspiration from conducting long-term research and coming into contact with various people in these areas. In her latest work, THE PALE VIEW OF HILLS (2018), we observe in extreme quietnesss the life of a local woman, through the kind of long takes typical of Chantal Akerman. This approach generates a middle ground between fiction and documentation: we seem to be seeing all the details of this particular woman’s life, but in the meantime her mysterious past is shadowed from us; in other words, the protagonist appears to be “living evidence” and we are witnessing the remains of her history and how it gradually dissolves. The spaces in the film are worthy of particular heed, since they often constitute conflicting relationships: quiet living spaces are contrasted with bustling display spaces, the monochromatic Gobi Desert with polychromatic interiors, and ethnic decor with delocalized public spaces (such as the billiards room and the dance hall). These spatial conflicts compose the rhythm of this extremely quiet video, and suggest a perturbated multiplicity of time here.

—Text from NEW METALLURGISTS by YANG Beichen

刘⾬佳近期的计划都与中国的“边疆”，与少数民族地区相关。她往往进⾏长时间的调研⼯作，在当地与不同⼈群进⾏接触，以从中获取灵感。在其刚完成的作品《远⼭淡景》（2018）中，我们透过Chantal Akerman 式的长镜头，以⼀种极度安静的⽅式观察了⼀位当地⼥性的 ⽣活。这种⽅式造成了⼀种介于虚构与纪录之间的状态：我们貌似看到了这位⾝份特殊的⼥性⽣活的全部细节，但又被遮蔽于她神秘的过去之外；或者说，⼥主⼈公仿佛是“活着的证物”，⽽我们正在⽬睹那段历史的遗存与逐渐消逝。影⽚中的空间需要特别注意，它们往往构成彼此冲突的关系：安静的⽣活空间与喧闹的展⽰空间，单⾊调的⼽壁与⾊彩丰富的室内，民族化的装饰与公共空间（台球厅）的去地域化。这种空间冲突形成了这部极为沉静的电影的节奏变化，提⽰着时间在此的多重性。

—杨北⾠，节选⾃画册⽂章《新冶⾦者》