Erjin Liu (b. 2000) is a Chinese-born, Toronto-based visual artist working in digital photography. After studying at Humber College’s Commercial Photography program (2019–2021), Erjin quickly realized the commercial, client-driven mindset wasn’t for him. He rejected the industry’s focus on branding...
Read MoreErjin Liu (b. 2000) is a Chinese-born, Toronto-based visual artist working in digital photography. After studying at Humber College’s Commercial Photography program (2019–2021), Erjin quickly realized the commercial, client-driven mindset wasn’t for him. He rejected the industry’s focus on branding and sellability, choosing instead to build a path on the fine art side—one that values authenticity, emotion, and creative risk over clean portfolios and market trends.
His photographs often use direct flash—not as a technical tool, but as a deliberate aesthetic choice—exposing his subjects with stark clarity, flattening space, and amplifying the surreal tension between body and environment. Erjin is drawn to moments that exist between reality and fantasy, using flash to heighten awkwardness, vulnerability, and emotional disconnection. His work doesn’t aim to please, it seeks to confront, to unsettle, and to linger.
Uninterested in tidy themes, linear narratives, or clean interpretations, Erjin builds a visual world that resists explanation. Since 2020, he has been developing this fine art practice independently. His work was included in Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me (Family Ties Workshop, April 2025), and is set to appear in the fall 2025 issue of photoED Magazine. Erjin continues to reject the polished pathways of the photo industry, building a career on instinct, resistance, and his own visual language.
