



ARTIST STATEMENT
The Factory of Desire is a photography project born from the conflicts I experienced growing up queer in a religious yet rapidly modernizing city in southeastern China. In this series, I recreate queer spaces through self-portraits and staged images, transforming personal feelings of displacement into visual narratives.
Raised in a rural village, I struggled to understand my queerness in a world where representation was scarce. The internet became my refuge—an anonymous space where I could experiment with identities and momentarily escape societal constraints. Yet, in real life, my desires remained hidden. I felt out of place at school and within my large family, a persistent sense of misalignment that now fuels my artistic practice.
Photography allows me to turn ephemeral spaces into lasting images. In my project, I construct queer spaces infused with the cultural aesthetics that have influenced me. China mass-produces pop culture materials, many of which permeate rural life in the form of vibrant plastics. I integrate these materials into my compositions, making space for omitted queer narratives.
I longed to leave my conservative village, but when it was finally demolished, I mourned its loss. One memory remains vivid: visiting the temple with my parents, where we worshiped deities and watched opera performances. A woman in pink makeup, dressed in male attire, sang boldly on stage. During a time when my own body felt foreign—my hair growing rapidly, my voice deepening—I found solace in her presence. Only later did I realize that the culture I once wanted to escape had already shaped me. I no longer see it as an adversary but as an inheritance that informs my work.

ARTIST BIO
Yukai Chen (he/they) is a lens-based artist born in Xiamen, China, and currently living between Xiamen and New York. Their work examines the construction and transformation of spaces and identities, exploring how people shape and reshape them over time. Moving with steady intent and an enduring gaze, Chen lingers in spaces, weaving through site visits, prolonged observation, and meticulous composition before the shutter clicks. Their practice gathers the ephemeral, stitching together fleeting moments until each image emerges, born not from haste but from the quiet weight of lived experience. Chen’s work has been featured in The Boston Globe, Boston Art Review, and PhMuseum. They are a recipient of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) Support for Artists Grant, the Brooklyn Arts Council’s Brooklyn Arts Fund and the En Foco Fellowship.