Tia Liu's 'What If We Were Lovers?' Examines Dating App Intimacy Through Film Photography

Tia Liu's ongoing project 'What if we were lovers?', initiated in 2023, uses film photography to document real dating experiences with full consent, capturing intimacy as it is created and lost. The work stands out from other dating app photography by avoiding irony and instead adopting a patient, vulnerable approach. Liu, who earned an MA from University of the Arts London in 2024 and a BA from Jinan University in Guangzhou, works with photography and moving image, exploring themes of intimacy, identity, and emotional vulnerability. The photographs are taken during actual dates by Liu, her date, or sometimes a stranger, emphasizing shared authorship. The visual style draws from consumer film photography, with blurred sun, underexposure, and compact camera aesthetics. An artist book, designed to smartphone scale, complements the series, divided into chapters labeled 'Lover 01', 'Lover 02', 'Lover 03', interspersing photographs with diary entries and iMessage threads. The project references Nan Goldin's 'The Ballad of Sexual Dependency' and Sophie Calle's 'Prenez soin de vous', and Liu's related work 'A Lover's Discourse' echoes Roland Barthes. Liu describes contemporary romance as 'increasingly formatted and transactional', and the project's conclusion states that photography functions 'not as proof of love, but as residue.'