SHIY DE-JINN

The late Taiwanese modernist painter Shiy De-jinn was renowned for his portrait paintings, where the act of gazing was both the subject and the object in many of his works. As the first openly gay artist in the history of modern Chinese art, Shiy De-jinn's artistic development was deeply intertwined with his experiences as a homosexual man, at a time when society lacked the vocabulary to express same-sex desires. In an era before "coming out" was a concept or a formal social ritual, Shiy De-jinn's openly non-heterosexual identity was a symbol of courage and powerful self-awareness. This significantly influenced his work—how he employed his (queer) gaze to create and express his art.