cairo (he/they) (b. 1998) is a painter and new media artist based in Palo Alto, CA. Using distinctive colour and brushstrokes, he creates atmospheric scenes that straddle the boundary between nostalgia and fiction. In their slice of life series, cairo's autoethnographic paintings draw on intimate moments from the mundane to the absurd. By focusing on the strange and specific joys of coming-of-age as a Chinese American trans boy, he aims to subvert mainstream narratives of queer tragedy. In his other works, cairo creates painterly expressions of trans masculine intimacy that simultaneously embed care and violence, affection and aggression.

As part of his work with Queer Ancestors Project, cairo created 8 linocut prints exploring the complication between their queerness and Chinese American heritage. The prints are intended to honour their queer ancestors and revitalise the lost queer history of Chinese folklore.

Their work has been published in independent art journals and magazines, and exhibited locally as well as internationally in France.