Xiyadie’s hand-dyed paper-cuts rework an ancient Chinese form to depict scenes of gay eroticism, between fantasy and the everyday. Traditionally, paper-cuts are hung on the panes of windows and doors as symbols of luck and happiness, to ward off evil spirits. Here, male lovers intertwine between the Gates of Heavenly Peace – an illicit bond at the principal site in Beijing where the legal love of the nation is performed.
