ABSTRACT
Celebrated as ‘China’s Tom of Finland’, Xiyadie is probably one of the best-known queer artists living in China today. His identity as a gay man from rural China and his method of using the Chinese folk art of papercutting for queer artistic expression make him a unique figure in contemporary art. This chapter examines Xiyadie’s transformation of identity in life and his representation of queer experiences in papercutting art. Using a critical biographical approach, in tandem with analysis of his representative artworks, this chapter examines the transformation of Xiyadie’s identity from a folk artist to a queer artist. In doing so, it delineates the transformation and reification of human subjectivity and creativity under transnational capitalism.
