Xiao Lu’s Dialogue and a Woman’s Firing Dialogue with Contemporary China

Xiao Lu’s 1989 performance Dialogue at the China/Avant-Garde Exhibition represents a landmark moment in Chinese contemporary art. In the installation, two telephone booths displayed photographs of a man and a woman, with a red receiver dangling between them. During the exhibition, Xiao fired two shots from a small handgun into the work, an act that led to the show’s immediate closure and her arrest. The intervention became a potent symbol of disruption, intersecting personal expression with broader social and political tensions.

Originally presented as a collaboration with Tang Song, the work was framed as a commentary on political, legal, and interpersonal boundaries. In 2004, Xiao reasserted her sole authorship, reframing Dialogue as a feminist intervention rooted in her own experiences, including complex personal relationships and formative traumas. This shift highlights how the meaning of art can evolve as artists revisit their work and as cultural contexts change.

This presentation explores Dialogue’s layered significance, tracing its trajectory from a public, sensational act to a deeply personal statement on gender, authorship, and agency. By examining the work’s visual and performative strategies, as well as its reception over time, I argue that Dialogue challenges conventional notions of communication, memory, and social responsibility in art. In foregrounding the use of a firearm, the piece invites reflection on the symbolic and literal power of guns within both artistic and societal contexts, revealing the complex interplay between personal trauma, violence, and public expression.