Art Director & Creative Designer
This project investigates how stereotypes of masculinity shape gay culture through research into gender expression among Chinese and British gay men, alongside reflections on body image drawn from my own experiences and those of others. Through a short film and an accompanying research publication, I examine how heteronormative society imposes binary ideas of gender on queer communities, while critiquing the idealisation and privileging of masculinity within parts of contemporary Chinese gay culture.
Part 1 - Short Film
Adonis’ Wonderland
Adonis, a figure from Greek mythology, has long embodied an idealised standard of masculine beauty.
In the film, I imagine myself transformed into Adonis, possessing the perfect, most desirable body. Within this fantastical wonderland, phallic forms surround me and exist for my pleasure. Yet the fantasy begins to fracture as memories of my past struggles return, revealing the painful process through which I came to inhabit this masculine ideal.
Creative: Jiqiang(Johnny) Wen
Art direction: Jiqiang(Johnny) Wen
Colour grading & Editing: Kai Zhao
Sound design: Blinkit
Special thanks: ChiaHua Lee, Tomàs Edward Anthony Leen, Thomas James Gilbert & Royal College of Art
RCA2023 GRADUATION SHOW
Part 2 - Research Publication
Adonis & I
This research publication explores my relationship with ideals of masculinity within contemporary Chinese gay culture, and how these ideals have shaped my body image, gender identity and sense of belonging. Drawing on personal reflection, interviews and research into the Adonis complex, it examines how dominant masculine standards are constructed, internalised and experienced by gay men whose bodies or gender expression fall outside them.
Graphic design: Jiqiang(Johnny) Wen