Xu, Guanyu

In 2018, as an act of resistance and expression, Chicago-based artist Guanyu Xu began secretly constructing and documenting elaborate photographic installations throughout his parent’s apartment in a Beijing military complex while they were away for the day. This act allowed Xu to expand the conservative, heteronormative space where his identity as a queer individual is taboo and remains hidden. Xu’s multifaceted formations consist of Western magazine clippings he collected as a teenager living in China, family photos, and Xu’s own photographs including himself and other members of the LGTBQ community in the United States from his previous series One Land to Another. As such, Xu creates an intersection of cross-cultural critique and a free, although temporary, expression of his sexuality.