Jiabao Liu on Art and Ambition: The Beginning of the Dream

What motivated me to participate in these competitions was a sense of survival. I want to build a Dyson swarm and a hibernation chamber.

Earlier in 2025, I attempted to contact many large institutions, media outlets, and organizations, such as NUS and Temasek, in the hope that they would invest in my projects. One of these projects was a card-based RTS game. I sent around 400 emails but received no responses. My original plan was to use this company as a leverage point to launch other companies, such as a hexapod robotics company and a hydroponic farming company, forming a group of companies that could eventually generate enough capital to pursue the Dyson swarm and the hibernation chamber. That plan failed.

Things became more difficult when my existing visa plan also collapsed. I had previously received an offer from RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) in the United States. I was a computer science major, and my plan was to transfer to RPI for two years, conduct research on hexapod robots there, and then pursue a PhD in the U.S. During my PhD, I planned to build a hexapod robot demo and seek investment from Elon Musk and Temasek, using that company as the core leverage point to build the rest of the company group. However, RPI appeared to be concerned by my ideas and withdrew my offer one day before my U.S. visa interview, citing discrimination against women as the reason. This was why I went on academic leave.

After that, I decided that I had no choice but to raise money on my own and start a company independently. My next idea was to approach galleries: participate in competitions, secure exhibitions, build reputation and visibility, and then approach Temasek again for investment. However, top-tier galleries such as Gagosian and Perrotin reviewed my emails nearly 200 times and still chose not to work with me, even though the artwork had already been completed. At that point, I had no alternatives left.

As a result, the only option remaining was to rely on my RTS card game project as the leverage point for my future companies.

Participating in these competitions was therefore mainly about building reputation. While this could make future gallery exhibitions easier, the more important purpose was to increase credibility for a future Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, so that it could raise a higher level of funding. This entire story has been described in an extremely condensed form and took place in the second half of 2025.

As I stated at the beginning, the original purpose of creating this 284-hour artwork was for a gallery exhibition. In fact, even that was not the initial intention—it began simply as a practice piece. What ultimately drove its creation was a sense of survival. At the time, I felt I had no alternatives: if I failed, I would be forced to return to school, and in that case, I believed my ambitions would slowly fade.

So every time I wanted to stop, I pushed myself to continue refining it. That is how it eventually reached 284 hours.

The work itself does not carry any special meaning within the industry. The only thing it represents is the depth of my resentment toward institutions.

As I mentioned earlier, I have no formal training. I simply kept adjusting the painting based on what looked good to me. If a part felt unattractive or overly rigid, I changed it directly, repeating the process until I was satisfied.

So if there is anything distinctive about the work, I believe it is the overwhelming density of detail at first glance, the highly psychedelic lighting, and the extremely exaggerated sense of scale that sets it apart.

Of course there were challenges, but I did not have any clever way to overcome them. I felt helpless sitting in front of a typewriter, relying on almost countless repetitions—trying endless brushes again and again—until I found a way of painting that worked, turning the object into what I originally saw in my mind. I had no real technique, just sheer repetition, producing results through brute force.

I believe what this may bring is that, when potential investors Google my name in the future, there will at least be an official website rather than nothing at all.

It could also increase the amount raised on Kickstarter by around 10–20%. Additionally, it may raise the probability of Perrotin or Gagosian exhibiting this work by another 20%.

The few After Effects editors I recently contacted only said that the work was “pretty good". During the painting process, there was no positive feedback at all as I worked on it alone for two months.

I do not believe I am truly qualified to offer techniques to others, because creating this work came at the cost of significant strain on my physical health. I approached it with a do-or-die mindset, believing it was the only thing I could do at that moment.

If I had to offer any advice at all, it would be to have enough patience and to take care of your physical health.

The biggest variable in the digital industry is AI and I believe digital creators need to accept it. This is no different from how machines replaced textile workers during the steam era.

My positioning is to create things that do not exist in reality at all and to leave a deep impression—that is probably my way of not being replaceable.

Do not be afraid of failing. People only remember how many times you succeed, not how many times you fail.

I honestly do not know what kind of innovation that sort of physics experiment actually represents.

This artwork was created entirely by myself, and I worked through the process without external affirmation or feedback.

The only way I can describe it is that it felt like a miracle. I actually managed to finish it and endure all the way through.

Yes—there is. It is the RTS card game project I mentioned earlier. My current plan is to launch my official website and Kickstarter and to recruit several concept artists and video editors. I will be responsible for composition, worldbuilding, and card mechanics design.

After that, the goal is to raise USD 100,000 through crowdfunding and then recruit programmers to build a demo. Next, I plan to accumulate up to USD 5 million using a black-box floating pricing mechanism. With that, I will rent a large open-plan space in Singapore and recruit a core team.

At that point, I expect Perrotin will invite me for an exhibition. Then I will be able to approach Temasek for investment and officially launch my first company.