As it’s Valentine’s day, why not do the obvious and start the day with a talk about relationships? They are so simple and, paradoxically, so complicated, so unpredictable and so full of possibilities. We accept the human being as social animal but love remains a mystery in our lives, even science is trying to explain it as hormonal reactions.

“What does love look like? Anything. As long as two people match, no matter in what way, it’s love.”  (The Morning News)

What does make us interested in another person? What does make us to be with this other person for a day, a year, a whole life? Why some people work together and others not? What are the roles each one has to play? Are they fixed? Stereotyped?

More than answers, Yijun Liao (a.k.a Pixy) gives us questions. At the same time she shows us that, independently from where we are, looks like most of us have the same fears, the same issues and the same idea of what should be a “perfect relationship”. Time for a change? Maybe. Maybe not. Depends of who we are and what we want.

In her words: “As a woman, I used to think I can only fall in love with someone that I adore, who is maturer than me, older than me, a protector, a mentor. Then I met my boyfriend, Moro, who is 5 years younger than me. I felt the whole relationship is changed all the way around. I become the person who has more authority & power. & when I told my male friend about my new relationship, he said, “How could you choose a boyfriend the way we choose a girlfriend?!” and I think “Damn right. That’s exactly what I’m doing, & why not?!” I have always doubted the stereotype of a man-woman relationship. Why should a couple be a man and a woman? Why does man have to be a certain way? Why should woman be a certain way? I feel relationships are for more complicated and always changing, and it has lots of possibilities. So I began to think about the meaning of this relationship and experiment with it.

In this project I throw out questions and ideas about relationship. What will happen if man & woman exchange their roles of sex & roles of power. What this relationship does to man & woman? I also express my frustrations in a relationship, like the impossibility to find a soul-mate, the feeling of isolation & disconnection. Because my boyfriend is Japanese, & I am Chinese. The project sometimes also describes a love & hate relationship. This project is an experiment to me, not a real document of our real relationship.“

And last but not least: Happy Valentine´s Day!!

Yijun Liao  is a born and raised Shanghai photographer, who currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. Moro, her boyfriend, is a musician, from Japan.  Obs.: Make sure to check the website and read the descriptions of the photos, they are important!