In the shifting landscape of contemporary art, where identity, technology, and politics converge, a new generation of artists is redefining what it means to create. Among them, Xinyu XuXX—known professionally as Xinyu Xu—stands out as a figure whose work bridges cultures, disciplines, and emotional registers with remarkable fluidity.
The Artist
Born in Hunan, China in 1998, XuXX (she/it) is a Chinese-born, London-based artist and screening organiser. Her educational journey reads like a map of artistic migration: a BA in fashion design from the China Academy of Art, a Graduate Diploma in Fine Art from the Royal College of Art, and an MFA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths, University of London.
Each institution left its mark. From the China Academy of Art, XuXX absorbed the discipline of craft and the language of fashion. From the Royal College of Art, she gained the conceptual framework to move beyond design into pure artistic expression. At Goldsmiths, she found the community and critical context to develop her practice into something wholly original.
The Practice
XuXX’s work is fundamentally interdisciplinary, spanning moving image, installation, and performance. Her practice centres on feminist eroticism—specifically, the erotic capacity to form connections, transmit energy, and create intimacy across time and territory.
“Her work is interested in how image as a non-human body creates visionary erotic experiences as a method for activism,” Al-Tiba9 Contemporary Art noted in a 2023 interview. “Inhabiting space for those bodies behind it.”
This is art that refuses categorisation. XuXX’s moving images are not documentaries or narratives in the conventional sense; they are immersive experiences that engage the viewer’s body as much as their mind. Sound, movement, and visual texture combine to create environments that feel simultaneously intimate and expansive.
The Work
XuXX’s image work has been exhibited between the UK and China, including Omitted References at The Art Pavilion in Mile End Park, At the Edge of Safe House, and Our Bodies Are Portal at Asylum Chapel. In Beijing, she curated Double Interval at Three Shadows Gallery—a group show in Huangshan that explored the boundaries between moving image and physical space.
As one of the organisers of @If Splash as Your Whistle, a programme showcasing queer, diasporic moving images and films through multimedia art events, XuXX has positioned herself not just as an artist but as a cultural facilitator—creating platforms for marginalised voices in the moving image community.
The Philosophy
What distinguishes XuXX from many contemporary artists is the philosophical depth of her practice. She does not merely represent identity; she interrogates the mechanisms through which identity is constructed, performed, and experienced.
“Anyone who can empathise with subtle things or for others and convey those feelings through their medium to create a special world can be considered an artist,” she has said. This definition—generous, inclusive, and deeply human—reflects her approach to art-making: not as a solitary pursuit but as a form of connection.
Her interest in eroticism is not gratuitous; it is strategic. By engaging the body’s capacity for pleasure and vulnerability, XuXX creates art that bypasses intellectual defences and speaks directly to the viewer’s emotional experience. In a world increasingly mediated by screens and algorithms, this tactile, embodied approach feels both radical and necessary.
The Future
At just 27, Xinyu XuXX has already achieved what many artists take decades to accomplish: a coherent body of work, a committed community, and a practice that resonates across cultural and linguistic boundaries. Her trajectory suggests an artist who will continue to evolve, challenge, and inspire.
As she moves deeper into her career, XuXX carries with her the influences of two cultures, the training of three institutions, and the vision of an artist who believes that art’s highest purpose is to create connection. In the world of arts and culture, that is a rare and precious gift.
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For more on emerging artists and contemporary art, explore our coverage of [new voices in the art world](/category/art/) and [cross-cultural creativity](/category/culture/).