O-1 Visas
What is intimacy in 2026—and where? Yutong Xie explores this question through a range of digital media, including the provocatively titled “Threesome,” a recent image that illustrates nothing more licentious than the exceedingly common situation of an interpersonal relationship conducted via the intermediary of a smartphone. How different is that from kids passing flirty notes between each other’s desks in high schools of yore, or strangers making eyes at each other across a crowded bar? Almost everyone alive today should know the answer, which is: very. More complex, and confusing, relating occurs in Xie’s web series, Internet Legend 2000, complete with online memes, multilingual discussion, and the ability to grow men at home from seeds. The results are colorful, funny, fascinating and exceedingly strange, but also I think I may just be too old.
—Lori Waxman 9/28/26 11:41:15 AM