Sunpride Foundation exhibits works such as Jes Fan’s Visible Woman to promote gay rights. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Patrick Sun finally got round to discussing homosexuality with his then 99-year-old father on the last day of the maiden LGBTQ+-themed exhibition he had put together. The show, held at Museum of Contemporary Art in Taipei in November 2017, was called Spectrosynthesis — Asian LGBTQ Issues and Art Now. 

Sun junior took care to skim through the exhibits with pronounced erotic overtones during the private viewing for his father. In the end, the near-centennial acknowledged his ignorance of the subject but was pleased to see the exhibition being held in a government-run museum. Besides, the impressive audience turnout meant that his son must have been doing something right.

While discussions about sexuality, including his own gay status, rarely happens at family dinners even now, Sun says he’s become more relaxed around his father. His Taipei show took place at a time when same-sex marriage was a hot political topic in Taiwan. Sun likes to believe his show played a part in the February 20, 2019 ruling legalizing gay marriages in Taiwan. This opening up of a space for dialogue about LGBTQ+ issues on both personal and international platforms became the fuel for Sun’s subsequent Spectrosynthesis II — Exposure of Tolerance: LGBTQ in Southeast Asia exhibition at the Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre in 2019. A Hong Kong show is planned for 2022, when Asia’s first Gay Games take place in the city. 

Sunpride Foundation exhibits works such as Xiyadie’s papercut art (below) to promote gay rights. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Sun launched Sunpride Foundation in 2014, with the hope of effecting social change by showcasing LGBTQ+-themed art collected from Asia. He reckons artists often have reservations about the “gay art” label, when they ought to wear it with pride.

Coined by fusing the words “spectrum” and “photosynthesis”, Spectrosynthesis alludes to the spectrum of light representing the diverse and rainbow-colored LGBTQ+ community. 

Both exhibitions hosted works by more than 50 modern and contemporary artists from around the world, including the likes of Hong Kong’s Tseng Kwong-chi and Jes Fan, as well as Xiyadie and Yan Xing from the Chinese mainland. Artworks either featured LGBTQ+ subjects or were created by LGBTQ+ artists. The themes ranged from same-sex parenting, social stigmatization of non-binary sexual relationships, equality, culture, self-identity and more — ideas that anyone, queer or not, could relate to, says Sun. 

Patrick Sun launched Sunpride Foundation to promote LGBTQ+-themed art collected from Asia. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

For example, Jes Fan’s Visible Woman installation uses PPE pipes to connect a number of sculptures resembling human organs, symbolizing  gender fluidity. Xiyadie’s delicate papercut art depicts his life before and after coming out to his wife and children. 

“In a sense, we all are minorities in this world.  Spectrosynthesis presents a spectrum of works and mediums. So whoever walks into our show would find something they can relate to and leave with a sense of compassion for all minorities, especially the LGBTQ+ community,” says Sun. 

Keen to represent all the colors in the spectrum in his exhibitions, Sun understands his limits. In Thailand alone, for instance, there are 18 different gender identifications.

“Our ethos is not to explore how many identities are out there, but to foster a sense of inclusion in our visitors through tackling the issues we all face,” says Sun, hoping his efforts will help “reduce the discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community so they can live a normal, visible life.” 

“Change doesn’t come overnight,” he adds. “I always believe that if we can take one step forward, we can slowly change the world. Art is only one way we can do this.”