Baopu #105: A Good Cry

In a 10 panel watercolor comic that's in the colors of pink and orange it reads: I haven't cried in for a long time. There's too much to process. But I feel the gravity — of a good cry coming. Stories not yet told. Tension so present in our bodies. Future too fragile to catch us all. Eyes closed, hands together. Feel the good cry coming. Coming and going. A good cry. Around these captions are different images of Baopu, an Asian person with red hair: dressed up as a jack-o-latern for halloween, various close ups of their face, wearing a hat, hugging friends, and hugging themselves.

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Yao Xiao

Yao Xiao is a China-born illustrator based in New York City. Yao Xiao creates artwork depicting a poetic visual world where complex concepts and human emotions are examined, amplified, and given physical form. Her work has helped people all over the globe connect at unique moments, from the celebration of the 20 Year Anniversary of the SXSW Interactive Festival, to the grand release of pop singer Katy Perry's single 'Dark Horse.' She has created deeply emotional and beautiful graphics for editorial print publications, pop music record covers, concert posters and book covers. Yao Xiao's serialized comic Baopu currently runs monthly on Autostraddle. It is an original comic exploring the nuances in searching for identities, connections and friendships through the fictional life of a young, queer emigrant. Baopu stands for 'holding simplicity,' a Taoist ideal of wishing to return to a simpler state. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Etsy or her website.

Yao has written 128 articles for us.

9 Comments

  1. I love all of your work and always get excited about a new Baopu comic, but this one reallllllly spoke to me. The gravity in the teardrop! “Future too fragile to hold us all”! There is so much happening here and all of it is brilliant and gorgeous.

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