Lisa Tang Liu

Alchemy of the unknowns

(concept Collaboration with James david tabor in Arizona)

Photo book available here.

Our experimental, concept-centered project is about collaboration between strangers in a very divided country, rootedness in the tangibility of the physical world, and thriving despite uncertainty.

Lisa lives in Massachusetts, and James lives in Arizona. We were strangers within a worldwide community of toy camera aficionados. With very different upbringing and geopolitical environments, we find common ground in our analog photography and aspirations for a Daoist way to live. In the spring of 2023, we began our project in “film swaps,” the practice of having one photographer first expose images on an entire roll of film and mail it to another, who would then photograph the same film again from the beginning. We don’t tell each other what we have photographed. The results are all surprises.

With already over 20 rolls of film exchanged, we made many mistakes and had many disagreements. Our mutual respect for each other’s work keeps the project going. It started with a belief in America as a nation of diversity. As time went on, it became a way for us to maintain our hope in humanity.

–Lisa Tang Liu, Massachusetts and James David Tabor, Arizona