Close friends will see you with colored glasses

Luke Luokun Cheng (b. 1991, Jiangxi, China; based in Falls Church, United States)
"Close friends will see you with colored glasses" 2018
Nylon fabric with vinyl lettering
Courtesy of the artist

Hengfu banners are traditionally hung in public spaces in China to communicate messages of inspiration or motivation. Although the Mandarin word “hengfu” translates to “horizontal scroll,” there is more significance to these banners than just their form. Hengfu are often employed in public space as a form of state propaganda, but long-scroll messages were also extremely influential modes of publicly communicating dissent during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. It is the powerful occupation of dissent and public space that Luke Luokun Cheng cleverly leans into with these works.

Do you believe in love between comrades and Close friends will see you with colored glasses are two phrases—or perhaps warnings, questions, statements—taken from instant messages the artist received on a dating app for Chinese men seeking men. In these artworks, Cheng appropriates the formal qualities of the hengfu—the vibrant red color, scale, and horizontal orientation—while also subverting the implied discretion that may be associated with publicly stating queerness and desire in Chinese culture.

The usage of Mandarin characters on the banners renders these works illegible to many outside of China and Southeast Asia. Amidst this global pandemic, and the fear mongering that the 45th President of the United States aggressively encouraged toward China, positing these indecipherable statements in public space asks us to question other types of fear and bias that we have for bodies and publics.

By Allison Glenn (based in Bentonville, United States)