For his project “codpiece everywhere”, Xin Liu has dealt with a historical accessory – the codpiece. Often conspicuously decorated or padded, it was a sign of masculinity and potency in the 15th/16th century. The codpiece has long since disappeared – but even today there are still certain items of clothing or behaviour that men use to flaunt their masculinity.
Xin Liu has created a collection of contemporary pubic capsules that explores how men construct the image of masculinity in public today. The pubic capsule was highly symbolic, revealing much about the self-image of the wearer. In the meantime, men are finding other forms of expressing themselves and emphasising their masculinity, and this is what he wants to show with his project and illuminate with a humorous eye. For example, there is an object made of grey sweat fabric – a reference to the social media trend of wearing grey sweatpants under which the genitals are clearly visible. Another work is hung with medals and questions why wearing these badges is accepted among men, but other colourful, decorative elements or jewellery are generally considered rather unmanly. A pubic cap covered with delicate peacock feathers alludes to the fact that in the animal world, males are richly decorated, colourful and flamboyant, whereas in humans these attributes are more commonly attributed to females.
