Li Aixiao is a Chengdu-based artist specializing in photography and performance art. She holds dual degrees in Journalism and Applied Psychology (both 2009) from Southwest University, China.
Her practice focuses on participatory work rooted in trust and emotional resonance. By dissolving boundaries and fostering genuine connection, her work explores intimacy, identity, and transformation in human relationships. Her work has been exhibited internationally and featured in both domestic and international media. She has also received multiple awards in recognition of her practice.
Artist Statement
My work spans photography and performance art, rooted in participatory encounters that dissolve boundaries to explore intimacy, identity, and human connection.
I began with a photography project called Personal Belongings, which outwardly explored the relationship between people and objects—but beneath the surface, it was really about the invisible ties between people. After completing the series, I noticed my attachment to objects had quietly dissolved. My focus shifted inward, toward human connection.
In 2019, I created my first performance piece, Li Aixiao and Her 100 Photographs. I invited the participants from Personal Belongings to return and paste the portraits I had taken of them directly onto my body. That intimate gesture—offering my body as a medium—profoundly moved me. It marked the beginning of my ongoing exploration into performance art.
During the pandemic, I launched I Am with Me, a photography project where I entered strangers’ private spaces, wore their clothes, and joined them in fragments of their daily life. These intimate encounters opened something in me. In these unfamiliar domestic spaces, I experienced a sense of expansive freedom, and my own identity began to feel fluid. I realized: perhaps I could become anyone. This reversal—becoming the guest instead of the host—helped me understand the vulnerability my earlier subjects might have felt in my studio.
Now, I am taking my work into public spaces through Back and Forth, a participatory performance project that is evolving into a year-long tour. Through this piece, I seek to invite moments of real emotional connection, awaken a sense of mutual trust and goodwill, and explore how our encounters with others continually shape who we are.
Selected Exhibitions
2025 GUYU ACTION — International Performance Art Festival, Xi’an, China
2024 Macau International Performance Art Festival, Macau, China
2024 Private: I Am With Me, Biennale Della Fotografia Femminile, Mantova, Italy
2023 Chengdu: Wayfarer, A4 Art Museum, Chengdu, China
2023 Human Nature, The Glasgow Gallery of Photography, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
2023 The 2nd Artist-in-Residence of Forlong, Art Forlong International Artist Residency Center, Zhangjiakou, China
2023 Der Greif: Past & Present, Pavilion 333, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany
2023 The 10th Xinhuo Live Art Festival, Yangtze River, Chongqing, China
2023 The Public Space which As Far As the Eyes Can See, Natural Growth Art Center, Chengdu, China
2023 Head On at PhotoSCHWEIZ 2023, PhotoSCHWEIZ, Zurich, Switzerland
2022 Head On Portrait Awards, Head On Photo Festival, Sydney Australia
2022 I Am With Me, Head On Photo Festival, Sydney Australia
2022 The 10th UP-ON International Live Art Festival, Guanghui Art Museum, Chengdu, China
2022 Heterogeneous Layers, Blue Roof Museum, Chengdu, China
2022 The 9th Xinhuo Live Art Festival, X Space, Chengdu, China
2021 The 9th UP-ON International Live Art Festival, Guanghui Art Museum, Chengdu, China
2021 Art book fairs in major cities of China, Wuhan, Shanghai, Xi'an, Chengdu, Dali, Shenzhen, Xiamen
2020 The 2nd Wuhan Photo Art Fair / Special Exhibition for Self-publishing, Wuhan, China
2019 Annual Exhibition of SAYA Embrace Project, Blue Roof Museum, Chengdu, China
2019 Li Aixiao And Her 100 Pictures, Nu Space, Chengdu, China
2018 YES OR NO (2018 Art Nova 100), Guardian Art Center, Beijing, China
2018 Personal Belongings in Vienna, Medo Art Space, Vienna, Austria
2018 Living Library & Personal Belongings, Flash Space, Chengdu, China
2018 The Significance to Change the Body, Chongqing Art Museum, Chongqing, China
2017 Analysis of Personal Cases of 100 Chinese Post-85s Photographers from Natural Growth, PIP, Pingyao, China
2014 Who I Am, PIP, Pingyao, China
2014 18+ART, Beijing, China
Awards & Grants
2024 First place, TIME and ASMP's Global Portraiture Competition — Portraits Influence, USA
2024 Winner, Biennale Della Fotografia Femminile — The Circuit Off 2024 Prizes, Italy
2023 Finalist, IMA-next: Theme #41 Open Call, Japan
2023 Longlist, BBA Photography Prize, Germany
2023 Winner, 20th Julia Margaret Cameron Award, Professional Section — Storytelling Series, Spain
2022 Finalist, Head On Portrait Awards, Australia
2022 Finalist, Women Photograph Project Grants, USA
2020 Winner, 2nd Wuhan Photo Art Fair — Jury Choice Award for Self-publishing, China
2018 Selected Artist, Art Nova 100 — 100 Artists, China
2018 Winner, SAYA Embrace Project — Artist of the Year 2018, China
Residencies
2023 International Artist Residence Program of Forlong, Zhangjiakou, China
2021 Hello, Neighbour x Community Art LAB, Fuzhou, China
2018 SAYA (Supporting Active Young Artists), Vienna, Austria
Publications
2024 OF COVID: Collective Trauma, KGP and Humble Arts Foundation: pp. 31-32, USA
2020 Personal Belongings, Self-published, China
Essays & Reviews
2025 Mohei Studio: Li Aixiao — Arriving in High Spirits, Departing with a Light Heart, Interview by Yu An
2025 PhotoAnthology: I am with Me
2024 IL FOTOGRAFO Magazine (Issue No. 350): I am with me, Interviewed by Michela Frontino
2023 IMA 2023 Autumn/Winter Vol 40: pp. 10-11
2023 See-Zeen issue 9
2023 Conversation with Li Aixiao, Interviewed by Chris Yuan
2023 Talking Pictures: Li Aixiao: Acts of Connection, Interviewed by Alasdair Foster
2022 Photoartist: 100 People and Stories Who Gave Me Their Sincerity and Trust, Interviewed by He Qing
2022 CHIP PHOTO VIDEO: Conversation with Li Aixiao: Times and People: pp. 111-116, Interviewed by He Qing
2021 BIE: Li Aixiao: Because I don’t like female nudity in the male gaze, Interviewed by Yang Haijun
2020 People-photo Press: Li Aixiao: I will be your mirror, Interviewed by Cui Bo
2020 China Photo Press: Li Aixiao: I am obsessed with recording moments, Interviewed by Chun Xi
2018 Portrait Magazine: Pain and Love in 99 Naked Portraits, Interviewed by Shan Zixuan
2018 Yi Tiao: They Took Photos Holding Their Most Important Souvenirs, Interviewed by Ni Jianjia
Feelings, Interviewed by Feng Yuezi
2018 Mipai: 100 Personal Belongings and 100 Portraits of Naked People
2017 Netease: Beautiful Photographer Talks to 100 Naked People Through Lens
2017 Sichuan Online: She Explores The Deepest Part of Souls Though Her Lens, Interviewed by Deng Tongtong
2016 Metro Express of Chengdu: Walk Through The Stories of 100 People, Interviewed by Jin Duolun
2016 YUTOO: Li Aixiao: There is an Unforgettable Story behind Each Photo
2016 Luxe Life Magazine: A Hundred Travels in Life Time: pp.114-119, Interviewed by Jiang He
2016 LOOK Video: She is an Extraordinary Woman, Using the Camera to Talk to 100 Naked People
Lectures & Talks
2024 Night School: 2024 Macau International Perfomance Art Festival, UP-ON Performance Art Archive, Chengdu, China
2024 Night School: Performance Art Works Observation with UWA Art History Scholars, UP-ON Performance Art Archive, Chengdu, China
2022 Night School: The Reflection of The Live Art Power, UP-ON Performance Art Archive, Chengdu, China
2022 Anthropology through photography, Head On Photo Festival, Sydney Australia
2022 The Decameron: E05E10, DUNBAR, Chengdu, China
2021 The Photobook Personal Belongings, Art book fairs in major cities of China, Wuhan, Shanghai, Xi'an, Chengdu, Dali
2020 Li Aixiao's Photographic Works, Daofeng Bookshop, Chongqing, China
2020 The Photobook Personal Belongings, Yiwei Bookshop, Chengdu, China
2019 Adventurous Roses, Luxe Life Magazine, Chengdu, China
2018 Personal Belongings, Sichuan University of Media and Communications, Chengdu, China
2018 How to Use Phone to Take Good Pictures, Yanjiyou Bookstore, Chengdu, China
2017 Personal Belongings, Yanjiyou Bookstore, Chengdu, China
2017 Personal Belongings, Nu Cafe, Chengdu, China
2017 The Language of Objects, Ace Youth, Chengdu, China
2016 Rencontres romantiques avec Chengdu, Alliance française de Chengdu, China
2015 Beauty Shot Studio, Lane Crawford, Chengdu, China