BRIO. Spring 2026 Issue

Cotidiano

Here are the audiovisual works included in our issue along with the digital version of the publication.

Mia Liang

人山人海 (“People Mountain, People Sea”), 2026

Short film

Artist Statement:

“人山人海” (“people mountain, people sea”) is a Chinese idiom describing a vast crowd—often evoking a sense of being lost. My parents’ stories immigrating from China to the United States, along with my own experiences living in the United States and the United Arab Emirates, have given me the privilege of crossing cultures, people, and languages. Yet these shifts have also brought constant change, adaptation, and instability—a feeling of belonging everywhere, yet nowhere at the same time.

In a world of over 8.2 billion people — 1.4 billion of whom are Chinese—it is easy to feel unremarkable, unseen, or alone. This mixed-media visual poem, blending analog and digital forms, reflects not only my personal journey with my identity but also the ways collective and individual stories shape who we are. Through this piece, the idiom “人山人海” is reinterpreted—not as being lost in the crowd, but as a reminder that no one is truly alone, and that every person carries a story worth telling.

Gloria Chen

Water, 2026

Short film

Artist Statement:

By capturing the elemental beauty of water—the relentless flow of a stream, the heavy silence of a lake, or the rhythmic surge of the tide—this film translates the 'pulse' of everyday habits into a visual and auditory meditation on internal identity.

In the film, this identity unfolds through a young girl’s journey within a conservative environment, where the mundane rhythms of life mask a deeper alienation. Her struggle to navigate traditional norms leads to the emergence of an imagined friend—a vivid embodiment of suppressed desires.

In crystallizing these fleeting, often invisible pulses of life, I hope to honor the habitual as a site of profound connection and inevitable decay. It is an invitation to feel the weight of the 'normal' and to find the courage to flow against the currents of traditional expectations.

Marley Correll

Are you listening? , 2026

Audio project

To read Marley’s creative intention statement, please refer to page 46 of our digital publication below.

Are you listening?

BRIO. Literary Journal

Cotidiano, Spring 2026