Breaking Boundaries: YuYu’s personal journey as a queer artist in the NFT world

The work of Taiwanese-born artist YuLiang “YuYu” Liu is not for the faint of heart.

Mixing different media such as photography, digital art and performance, his creations are heavily influenced by his own personal journey as a foreigner and member of the Asian and queer community.

“As a queer artist and as a foreigner who came to Europe, I struggled in the beginning. I use my artwork to raise the representation of every community,” he says Decrypt. “It’s a journey of self-discovery.”

In a field dominated by heterosexual men, YuYu’s work shines a light on another voice, one that is both deeply personal and enables an entire community to feel represented.

“I use my work to raise awareness and representation of the LGBT community. And I think that’s especially important in the NFT and crypto space,” he says. “There’s still a gap with the traditional art world in terms of representation. I still get a lot of hate mail from crypto bros on Twitter.”

For this first solo NFT exhibition called “GAG,” YuYu decided to completely transform the space of the IHAM gallery in Paris to create an immersive environment that reflects his own identity and journey as an artist.

All the furniture is covered with plastic foil, which is also used in sex parties – it makes it easier to clean the place afterwards. A subdued red light envelops the entire room, and is accompanied by an industrial soundscape created in collaboration with the London-based music producer, Marcel Dune.

Three new works of art are on display, which borrow elements from both classical painting and BDSM culture. Each examines the dynamics of power in modern society: the limitations of religion, politics, and the self. They were also made available for public sale as NFTs on SuperRare today.

“They’re even more personal than what I’ve done so far,” says YuYu. If the humor that characterizes his work is still present, it is much darker, with themes of death and suffering present throughout.

The BDSM references also aim to emphasize the concept of the so-called tortured genius, exploring the themes of dominance and submission and the way the struggles that artists must face are often fetishized.

Arguably the most striking piece of art, “Joke’s on You,” was inspired by the silence surrounding the deaths of AIDS patients two decades ago.

“It’s self-reflection,” he says. “As a minority, if I don’t speak up for myself, there will be bad consequences. It also represents me trying to fit in with the Western world. I’m wearing these romantic accessories.”

“I treat myself like a joke, criticizing the fact that I might have done something wrong,” YuYu continues. “Finally, the frame – with these flowers arranged around the artwork – symbolizes a funeral. It is the death of the old YuYu, the beginning of a new chapter.”

YuYu’s journey: then and now

By replacing the face and body with the existing figure in the classical artworks, YuYu confronts his own identity as an Asian and gay artist with the traditional codes of the European Golden Age, especially the Flemish masters of the 17th century such as Vermeer or Rembrandt.

As he explains, his creations “establish imaginative realities designed to shake up conservative societal structures and queer art history.”

YuYu, who has a master’s degree in architecture, began his journey in art when he moved to Berlin in 2015. He first worked as a model for photographers, and quickly decided to become a photographer himself. In parallel, he worked together with his partner as an organizer of electro parties.

From here he formally began his career as an artist. He launched a solo show at SoHo House Berlin, was published in magazines and books, and his artwork even became part of the Tom of Finland Foundation’s permanent collection in Los Angeles, California.

But when Covid-19 hit, everything stopped.

That’s when YuYu discovered NFTs and began experimenting with this new medium.

“For me, photography is the easier way to communicate with the public,” he explains. “However, entering the Web3 field has opened doors that I could not have opened otherwise. NFTs have not only enabled me to build a global network for my practice, but they also offer new tools to combat the rigidity of the traditional art world.”