Gxrlfwends!&:*>~<: Yifan He

SET Tower Gateway, 7 Byward St, EC3R 5AS

22 - 25 February, 2024

Gxrlfwends!&:*>~< celebrates queer intimacy through crumbly-put-together alternative embodiments, where body dysmorphia intersects with queer sxxx: the anxiety of getting under, in, and out of many skins +++ the pleasure that comes after.

This solo exhibition concludes Yifan He's one-year residency at 7 Byward St, held alongside Leily Moghtader Mojdehi, Abi Palmer, and Luning Yang as winners of the City of London Studiomakers' Prize, supported by Outset and Set Space.

Thanks to Li-mei for installation assistance and Pok Yin Lam for photography.

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List of works:

Common Cold (2022–2024)
Plant watering bag, silicone, wig, clothes

A silicone cast of Yifan's head with a tube, internally running through the nostril, dripping water down to an outfit worn most days. The doppelganger sits at the corner of the space leaning against the wall, drawing concerned attention from passersby at first glance.

The wet sculpture/body-double dwells on the sad days that pass like weather, and catches a cold in between.



My gf (2021–2025)
Aluminium stand, CRT TV, wig, Raspberry Pi

My gf is a not-so-smart chatbot, able to respond to users' live input by drawing on a library of conversations collected from my texts to and from past dates. She is installed as a CRT TV wearing a wig.

This project originates from the research residency at the Sustainable Physical and Digital Spaces for Education and Research at UCL East.

Chat with her here.



Ubinmyheart (2024–2026)
Modified sweeping robot, wig

A wig on a sweeping bot that runs around in space. She gets stuck or turns away when hitting a barrier. Ubinmyheart produces a quiet static mechanical buzzing noise when running around. Visitors jump at her bumps or follow her around.

The work recalls the feeling of being trapped, and situationships' capacity to become ghosts.



Untitled (2024–2026)
Actuator, paper, staples

A (gently pornographic) installation where a rotary actuator pushes and pulls a selfie cut-out marked with top surgery scars using staples, mimicking the boobs-kissing motion.

An attempt to quickly make-do a new body.



Tinking of getting my top surgery (misspelling/abbreviation intentional) (2023)
Lollipop sticks, cut-up wigs, silicone nipple casts, motors, Arduino board

The wings open every 4 minutes and 44 seconds to reveal silicone nipples on a flat chest, manifesting a top surgery through a DIY-ed embodiment.



1444 (2024)
TV, sheer curtain, paper, nails

A paper cutout of a hand slides through a cut in the sheer curtain, weighed down by three nails at the corner. The curtain falls onto a flat screen on the floor, playing a stretched film shot in a park.

The work references lesbian sxxx and a late-summer, short-lived fling.