ARTIST STATEMENT
In Chinese tradition, seed-filled fruits like the pomegranate suggest duozi duofu (多子多福), a blessing of fertility, abundance, and continuity.
Placed beside the body, these fruits move beyond simple symbolism. Their fragile flesh and countless seeds mirror human vulnerability and potential, while their vibrancy reflects pleasure and resilience. I wanted to subvert the traditional reading of the female body as a symbol of reproduction and nurturing, turning instead toward sensual pleasure, shifting from giving life to experiencing life. In this way, the fruits become a way to think about the queer body not as a deviation from norms but as another form of abundance and possibility.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Linye Jiang 江麟冶 (b.1988, Sichuan, China) is a lens-based artist currently living and working in Chicago. She experienced early silence surrounding familial queerness while growing up in Shenzhen, which underpins her exploration of gender roles, human complexity, and the intersection of societal culture with the personal. Her work dismantles hierarchies within photography through the integration of personal narratives, sculptural forms, and performance. She has exhibited at Dittmar Memorial Gallery, Northwestern University; the Chinese American Museum of Chicago; the Gene Siskel Film Center; Zhou B Art Center; and A4 Contemporary Arts Center (China). She has participated in the Wassaic Project residency. Jiang is a recipient of the Ignite Fund Chicago (2024), the Angela and George Paterakis Scholarship (2023), and the Vivian Maier Scholarship (2022). She holds an MFA in Photography from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
© Linye Jiang 江麟冶