Amass consists of sixteen cylindrical elements (10’ long and 4” diameter). Each spear-like wooden element is hand-sculpted and sharpened to a single point and coated with metallic graphite patina. Held in space by numerous thin white cotton threads stretching backwards towards the walls, ceiling, and floor, together, they form a radiating, circular composition. The elements zoom from all directions toward a center void, a volume of intensely charged energy, like a storm’s eye. On one side of the composition, an opening allows the spectator to enter, confront, and be confronted by the compressing force from the sixteen fierce points. The web of delicate cotton threads restrains the zooming motion of the elements, quiets the hovering threat, and the entire composition levitates in an energetic balance.

“Amass exudes a sense of serenity. And yet it simultaneously resonates with energy, tension and even a fleeting trace of residual movement as though the giant lances just stopped rocketing toward a target, miraculously held back by the gossamer threads. Liu’s work operates via multiple layers of dichotomy. Motion versus stillness. Threat balanced by quiet order. Delicacy contrasted with mass… Time and gravity remain integral to everything Liu creates.”

- Jeanne Claire Van Ryzin, Austin American Statesman