Mo Liu is you by Hedy Leung and Angelika Li

Mo Liu is you

Concept and work: Hedy Leung & Angelika Li 

Book design: HE&AD Büro für Gestaltung

Text editing: Stefan Lorenzutti

Art preparation: Corinna Rieber Prepress

Printing and binding: Grammlich, buch.one

Publisher: PF25 cultural projects, Basel 2023

First edition with a printrun of 99 copies

Each numbered and signed

Supported by Chinyan Wong, Christoph Merian Stiftung, and mobani

'Mo Liu' (無[mo4]聊[liu4]) is an abstract Cantonese term that defies literal translation. Some interpret it as 'meaningless' or 'senseless', while others see it as a source of boundless creativity springing from an uncluttered mind. This creativity flourishes in a personal and peaceful space insulated from external distractions and disturbances.

Channeling the spirit of Mo Liu, Angelika deftly sketches faces and creatures onto paintings Hedy makes using dried flowers repurposed from her Sogetsu Ikebana practice. It is an exercise in pure joy and relaxation, like swimming in a vast universe of freedom.

There are no rules, restrictions, expectations, targets, or intentions structuring this imaginative and whimsical process. The forms and figures seem to arise spontaneously from the unconscious mind, emerging from a half-woken state in which playfulness and the extraordinary intermingle.

The resulting pictures often surprise the creators themselves, prompting questions like: 'Where did those eyes and faces come from?' or 'What are these strange creatures?' The answer is simple: there is no answer.

We hope this collection of images conveys the melodies, energies, humour, harmony, and colours that we experienced during their enchanted creation.