Xina Qu (She/Her)

My artistic practice is rooted in my extensive education and passion for photography and graphic design. I am dedicated to utilizing a range of different materials and physical techniques to manipulate and create images.
Through my work, I reflect on personal memories and explore the fragility of life, highlighting themes such as identity, family, loss, and trauma – topics that are both deeply personal to me but are also universally understood.

Flesh and Blood
My project, ‘Flesh and Blood’, is a series of images that are a visual representation of identity, pain, and memory presented in an autobiographical format. After my mother’s passing in 2019, my values and sense of self crumbled, the fragility of my body and mind became apparent leading to intense self-destructive tendencies. Through this project, I tried to find a way to heal, to make sense of that dark period. I used my own portrait as the fundamental element throughout the work – photography served as the language, while physical manipulation and editing of the portrait served as the medium and in so doing, I attempted to visualize my personal memories and emotions and turn this experience into something cathartic and positive.