Yan-Jingzhou. Image courtesy White Rabbit Gallery.

China’s digital age is a vibrant playground where memes, virtual WeChat stickers, puns, and jokes are used to bypass censorship and address politically sensitive topics. To keep up in this rapid-fire environment, phrases are often condensed into acronyms. The Chinese internet slang XSWL, short for “xiào sǐ wǒle” (笑死我了), means “laughing to death.” It echoes the English “LOL” but with a twist and, when viewed more literally, suggests that light-hearted fun might mask darker games at play.

Play has a dark side which frequently makes waves in popular entertainment, video games, and media. Art, too, becomes an arena for toying with taboo themes and pushing social boundaries to their limits. Through their tongue-in-cheek creations, the artists in XSWL shatter once-innocent veneers, warning us that it’s all fun and games…until someone loses an eye.