The ancient Chinese art of gongbi dates back nearly 2,000 years, finding its origins in the Han Dynasty and describing a detailed realism typified by careful brushstrokes, use of high colour and depiction of figural or narrative subjects. Although the technique is steeped in history and tradition, contemporary painter Wong Xiang Yi has adapted it to suit a modern study of gender and sexuality. Inspired by the homoeroticism of yaoi, a subculture of Japanese manga comics that is in fact most widely consumed by girls, Wong’s meticulous ink-on-silk paintings offer an invitation to the viewer to witness the intimate negotiations on display. Rather than seeming voyeuristic, the paintings feature an element of knowingness, making viewers feel as though they have been granted quiet entry into a world of personal relationships from behind the safety of a shoji screen. ‘I chose gongbi to present an atmosphere of peace, sweetness and comfort in my paintings,’ says the artist. The use of the ancient technique offers and intriguing contrast to the modern perceptions of sexuality and play underpinning the conceptual basis of the work. In Borrowed Heaven (below), Wong depicts a modern, titillating, orgiastic scene; in You Know (opposite), a mild suggestion of bondage or S&M permeates the scene. For Wong, ‘Chinese painting’ can break free from its traditional connotations, harmonizing historic gongbi with contemporary yaoi to present a new appearance and a new way of looking at gender and sexuality in the modern age. 

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