Beyond The Frame

“Beyond the Frame” is a digital collage artwork created by Berlin-based photographer YuYu (YuLiang Liu). Faithful to his practice, the artist uses his self-portraiture to invade Henri Rousseau’s infamous painting “The Dream” created in 1901. Through this method, YuYu explores alternate moments in history allowing the viewers to re-evaluate obsolete perspectives and question mainstream norms. In “Beyond the Frame” YuYu juxtaposes elements from four paintings of Rousseau, allowing himself to expand both the frame and the narrative of the original work. To achieve this complex layering, YuYu utilizes the lush jungle and guides the viewer’s eyes to discover the story in an almost cinematic way. At first glance, the piece depicts the artist lying naked on a divan and witnessing a brutal fight between a tiger and a buffalo. However, the enlarged frame reveals a hidden scene that is often left out of the traditional view. In the background, a huntsman can be seen hiding in the bushes, aiming a shotgun at the predators. Additionally, the original snake charmer at the center of the image has now transformed to a serpent-like deity —a mythological creature of many cultures that is often associated with nature. This combination of the four scenes from different paintings creates a thought-provoking narrative on the relationship between humans and nature. The artist invites the viewer to question what lies beyond the frame and to consider the consequences of the actions taken by those in power. By exposing the hidden reality of the huntsman's violent intentions and the barely visible symbolization of nature in the form of the deity, the artwork highlights the destructive post-colonial impact and the devastating consequences of human interference in the natural world. Ultimately, "Beyond the Frame" serves as a warning about the dangerous consequences of our actions and the urgent need for a more sustainable and harmonious relationship with our planet and the life on it.