Li constructs immersive kinetic installations, which are typically large-scale, presented in an open forum. Designed to be experienced, mechanized movements and sounds are intrinsically involved in her works, producing a natural and orchestral environment for the audience. Daily accessible elements such as fans and metal sheets are assembled in a form of New Futurism, where crafts in technology drive behind minimal shapes, juxtaposing objects, or Sisyphean movements. With coded controls, Li’s installations are kinetic and sometimes interactive. Materials are treated as fleshy characters of living beings, where melancholy and nostalgia embed in unknown humor that enables human affections. In-depth, these emotions come from the living paradox of the unchanged desire for simplicity and purity, and yet, the unavoidable consequence of increasing complexity and degeneracy. This controversy is represented in her works as Yin and Yang, one of the essential concepts in ancient Oriental philosophies. The two opposite forces push against each other, keeping a dynamic balance driving the circle of life run and run. The permanent simplicity in the chaos of modern society is an elemental topic that the artist presents.
Responding to the global pandemic, Moonment (Moon-Moment) is a site-specific exhibition project. The inspiration is from a Chinese time-honored poem "海上升明月，天涯共此时" by a profound Tang Dynasty poet Jiuling Zhang. It means that when the moon rises above sea level, people, no matter where they are, see the moon and connect by sharing the moonlight of that moment. Inspired by the moon, a "heart" with beating sounds is created, together with metallic moving waves. People see the heart, hear the sound, thereby connecting to the ones they love beyond distances.
