The Boy Named Crow

And God

May 26, 2023

Dear God,

There is something I want to say.

But no sound comes out.

Are we singing without mouths open,

dancing without moving our bodies,

talking without words?

The boy named Crow

Yichen Zhou, 2023 © Courtesy of the artist

May 27, 2023

My dear boy named Crow,

Can I just call you Crow?

We are talking to each other, almost like in a drifting bottle. It's a message to an unknown destination. The destination might as be ourselves. It needs no words. It's a salute.

With Love,

God

June 11, 2023

Dear God,

You are right. The words/ no words are back to ourselves.

Let me think.

For me, those words/ no words are for those who want to make a voice but no one listens,

those who share their pains but the pains and hurts are glorified by others,

those who try to fight back but have to bear more pain first.

Yes, that's the destination.

Yours,

Crow

June 23, 2023

Dear Crow,

Are u a boy?

Are u a crow?

Do you like boy?

Do you like crow?

Does boy play with crow?

Does crow care for boy?

All the best,

God

The artists’ names were revealed with the completion of the project. The Boy Named Crow is Yichen Zhou, and God is Pixy Liao.

Yichen Zhou is an artist working with photography, video, performance, and installations. Her performance-based work explores her identity as part of a new generation of Chinese artists and points to the challenges of living in a world where she finds multiple cultures and values in conflict. Zhou received her MFA in Photography and Related Media at Parsons School of Design in 2012 and took part in various exhibitions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, St Petersburg Art Museum in Russia, Three Shadow Photography Center in China, Gallery HO in New York, SCOPE Art Fair in Miami. She was nominated for the 2018 Madame Figaro Women Photographer Award and won Alane Fineman New Photography Award at Ballarat International Foto Biennale. She lives and works in Beijing.

Born and raised in Shanghai, China, Pixy Liao is an artist who currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. Liao has participated in exhibitions internationally, including the Fotografiska, Rencontres d’Arles in Arles, Asia Society, the National Gallery of Australia, etc. She is a recipient of the NYFA Fellowship in photography, Santo Foundation Individual Artist Awards, Madame Figaro Women Photographers Award, En Foco's New Works Fellowship, etc. She has done artist residencies at Light Work, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Center for Photography at Woodstock, University of Arts London, School of Visual Arts, Pioneer Works, and Camera Club of New York. Liao holds an MFA in photography from the University of Memphis.

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