My Aquarium : The Zero Sex

"My Aquarium: The Zero Sex (2020)" portrays individuals with ambiguous gender identities living in an aquarium set against the backdrop of the city they were born and raised in, Seoul. These individuals, born in the 1990s in Seoul, have a different concept of gender compared to previous generations.

 

TZUSOO deeply resonates with the belief of journalist Susan Faludi that "gender is infinitely varied and exists on a spectrum." In "My Aquarium: The Zero Sex", she vividly captures the essence of young adults who fiercely reject the binary gender distinctions in the intensely patriarchal environment of Seoul. Their bodies, now part of the aquarium's ecosystem alongside digital monsters, vividly confront the complexities of gender within the confines of their biological forms. These digital monsters draw inspiration from hermaphroditic or gender-indifferent creatures like snails and eels.

 

Renowned photographer ii eun took the photographs, featuring models such as Vita Mikju, a drag queen and pole dancer; Keehwan Ann, who works an office job and rejects societal expectations of masculinity; and TZUSOO herself as a model. The backgrounds are not the glamorous aspects of Seoul often seen in international promotions, but rather ordinary apartment complexes where everyday people were born and raised, as well as industrial symbols like tunnels.

 

The project challenges conventional notions of gender and showcases the diverse and fluid expressions of gender identities within a contemporary urban context.