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Refugees
The deep connection Liu had with refugees was rooted in her personal experiences. She often recalled a story her mother shared with her when she was six years old:
While fleeing the fighting around Changchun with countless other refugees -- with no food and under fire -- our family passed by a river. Sitting alone on that riverbank was a baby. The baby's mother had set it down and stepped into the river's rushing water. Nobody picked up the baby. Everyone just kept walking. I asked my mother if she would ever have drowned herself and abandoned me by the river. She looked at me and said, "I don't know."
The portraits in this gallery highlight the courage and sacrifices of women who have faced remarkable adversity. Liu illuminated the lives of refugee children, nursing migrant mothers, and displaced "comfort women." In doing so, she evoked the journey of her mother, who took unimaginable risks as she carried her infant child to safety while fleeing war between the Nationalists and Communists. |