32 Surreal Photos By Ziqian Liu That Blur The Line Between Imagination And Reality

Shanghai-based photographic artist Ziqian Liu has nearly perfected the careful interplay of composition and reflection, pairing her own body with plants, mirrors, and carefully controlled light to create serene scenes that often feel somewhere between reality and a dream. Liu creates her photographs independently, using a camera and a tripod, with her own figure becoming a recurring element in her compositions. Her images tend toward minimalism, soft colors, and natural light, while flowers, fruit, and ordinary objects are arranged with remarkable precision. At the center of much of Liu’s work is the relationship between people and nature. Rather than treating the natural world as a backdrop, she presents the human body, plants, and other living things as parts of the same interconnected system.

Through carefully balanced compositions, she explores the idea that humans exist alongside other forms of life rather than above them, creating a tranquil visual world in which that sense of harmony can take center stage. Mirrors add another layer to her photographs. By reflecting, dividing, or partially concealing her subjects, mirrors let Liu show familiar forms from unexpected viewpoints and emphasize how much our understanding of something depends on the angle from which we observe it. They also become instruments of introspection, linking the artist to the objects surrounding her while sometimes making it difficult to tell where one element ends and another begins. Faces, meanwhile, are usually absent. By obscuring her own identity, Liu leaves space for viewers to project themselves and their experiences onto the figure in the photograph rather than concentrating on a particular facial expression. The resulting images can feel deeply personal while remaining open to interpretation, which is a quality that has helped her work reach audiences far beyond Shanghai, with exhibitions in cities including Milan, London, and Los Angeles and features in publications such as ELLE China and VOGUE Portugal.

Scroll down to explore a selection of Ziqian Liu’s carefully constructed photographs, and let us know in the comments which compositions made you stop and look a little longer.

More info: ziqianqian.net | Instagram