The first time Xiyadie's artwork was
"They said my artwork was pretty good," said the 54-year-old artist, chuckling.
Had they looked closer, they would have noticed his were some of the boldest gay artworks, revealing the troubled psyche of China's homosexual community.
Now, more than 50 works by diverse artists from across Asia have gone on display at Taipei's Museum of Contemporary Art (Moca). It is billed as the first public exhibition of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) themed art of its kind in Asia.
Xiyadie's work is easily masked as traditional Chinese paper cuttings of village scenes - red brick courtyard homes, flowers and birds. But look carefully and one depicts him so tormented by his desire for his male lover that he sews up his penis with a needle and thread.
Another depicts his wife holding their son inside their home while he and a man have sex outside, with facial expressions both painful and blissful.
