Xiyadie, a father, farmer, gay man, migrant worker, and artist, creates intimately crafted paper cuts that document the evolution of queer life in China since the 1980s. Though Xiyadie’s paper cuts since the first decade of the twenty-first century feature queer love scenes situated in cruising sites that he discovered upon arriving in Beijing in 2005, his earlier works are set mostly within interior spaces. In Sewn (1999), Xiyadie describes his difficulty in accepting his sexuality while trapped in a heterosexual marriage. His yellow trunks hang from one leg as he sews his penis tight with a large needle and thread made of semen and blood. Tucked inside a small interior dominated by a traditional Chinese door and roof, Xiyadie looks at a photo of his first boyfriend, a train attendant named Minghui. Pain and helplessness are suggested by the sharp blade piercing his leg, while a large snake slithering inside him represents his irrepressible desire. Significantly, the needle Xiyadie uses to sew himself up is also perforating the roof of the building, suggesting progress towards breaking free from tradition and family pressure.
This is the first time the work of Xiyadie is presented at Biennale Arte.
—Rosario Güiraldes
