Ari Larissa Heinrich’s Decolonial Melanin: Jes Fan’s Contagious Xenophoria (A Glossary) will explore the role of race and gender in the work of transgender Hong Kong artist Jes Fan, whose innovative use of biological materials like estrogen and melanin reflects the promise of state-of-the-art biotechnologies and new youth cultures of DIY “backyard” science activism. Structured as an experimental glossary, readers will be able to open to any page, and entries will range from the scientific to the poetic.
Ari Larissa Heinrich writes about contemporary experimental art from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, with a focus on works that employ biological materials like body parts, pathological specimens, and organic chemicals. They have written widely on Chinese and transnational visual cultures, medical illustration, and critical theory, and are also known for their translations of key works of queer literature from Taiwan in the late twentieth century. Their writing has appeared in venues ranging from the Los Angeles Review of Books to the New York Review Books to Duke University Press’s Perverse Modernities series.