Weekend Portfolio: Lanny Xiuzhu Li

RED is a love story between two queer Chinese girls. Inspired by the traditional Chinese matchmaking myth that connects two (heterosexual) lovers with red string on their pinky fingers, this story is not just about intimacy and connection, but also about struggle and rebellion. Red string intervenes to bring the girls closer. Simultaneously, the confinement it causes signifies the obstacles the girls experience due to the “unconventional” nature of their relationship. The gesture of rewriting the myth through queering the tradition and involving more intimate body parts breaks the taboo of queer love and pushes the boundary of the gender and sexuality binary within an intimate relationship.

RED

“Red is life, symbolizing the most primitive instinct of any living beings

Red is an identity, giving away the over-5000-year heritage engraved in our consciousness

Red is a commitment, creating the life-long bond between those in love

Red is a burden, representing a tradition that is too heavy to carry, too painful to forget

Red is a taboo, implying feelings and emotions that seem to be too different to fit in

Red is an intervention, filling the void that exists in between our space and our time

Red is a rebellion, breaking the shackles of gender and sexuality within an intimate relationship

Red is a statement, speaking with subtle gestures and louder than thousands of words

Red is in between our bedrooms under one roof

Red is us”

You can find more of Lanny’s work here.