Kuby Lin and Friends Celebrate the Year of the Snake

Kuby Lin and Friends Celebrate the Year of the Snake

Story by Ivan Guzman / Interviews and Photos by Kuby Lin / Illustrations by Likuanzhen
Jan 29, 2025

In East Asian culture, the snake holds profound meaning: wisdom, intuition, renewal. Nicknamed the “little dragon,” the snake sheds its skin to transform into something completely fresh and new. Whereas the West may characterize the snake as conniving and evil, in China, it can bring luck and happiness.

Kuby Lin can attest to this. “I grew up in the mountain, so seeing a snake is really common in my life,” he tells PAPER. “One day, a snake came into my house through the front door and climbed into the toilet. It brought me some happiness and money.”

If you’re around in Downtown NYC’s nightlife or art scene, it’s likely you’ve encountered Lin in some capacity. Like a snake, the Taiwanese performance artist slithers through the New York streets and party scenes with a direct and enigmatic aura. Whether he’s dressed up as the Statue of Liberty or casually sitting behind Ice Spice and Madonna in his signature towel look, Lin has a way of effortlessly combining humor (lest we forget his mainstay “cut or uncut” Instagram stories) with being a sort of living, breathing art piece.

This Lunar New Year — the year of the snake — feels significant to him. Historically, the snake year is associated with major turning points in the world and in politics. In 1917, America entered World War I. In 1929, the Great Depression began. Pearl Harbor, Malcolm X’s assassination, and 9/11 all happened during snake years. “The truths will come out,” Lin says. “I grew up in a Taoism family, so it’s a lot of praying.”

While fixating on the snake, Lin is quick to share his immediate symbols and associations with the animal. Recounting a major earthquake that forced his family to temporarily live in a tent when he was eight years old, he remembers: “One night, my cousin screamed and everyone woke up because she was sleeping with the snake. So it was like, oh my God, I have to be careful and properly close the tent or I will see the snake.”

Lin’s relationship with performance art is inextricably linked to his upbringing in the Taoist tradition. “When the Gods are having birthdays, people do a little bit of performance art and walk around the town and back to the temple,” Lin says. “They will cut themselves on the street while walking. I think that was the craziest thing. They will get blood.”

It was clear that this Lunar New Year, there was no better person to celebrate and reminisce on the year of the snake than Lin. For PAPER, he created a custom snake-inspired look and went to a Taoist temple in Queens to self-shoot himself amongst the Gods. “I don’t pray. I go on my knees like a snake,” he says.

Lin also caught up with his favorite New York-based Asian creatives to talk about their experiences with Lunar New Year, funniest moments with a snake, and more.

Zac Ching, Creative Director, Chinese

What was your funniest moment with a snake? You grew up in Hawaii, so I bet there are a lot.

No, there’s no snakes really in Hawaii that I know of. I always see snakes when I go upstate. They’re always hiding in rocks and I’m terrified, but I love them. I think they’re beautiful.

Do you scream?

I’ll scream. I stepped on one, and I think I killed it [laughs]. I think it was a baby.

You killed it? What did the skin look like?

It was black. I was barefoot, too. It was by a pool.

What kind of Lunar New Year experiences have you had?

My best friend Jackie, who I’ve known since high school, is full Chinese and introduced me to Chinese New Year traditions. We always go out for lunch and get noodles because that’s the traditional thing to eat to make sure you have a long life.

What symbol or word would you imagine with a snake?

Gorgeous.

So gay, oh my God!

[Laughs]

What was your favorite club in Asia?

I DJ’d New Years Eve at The Dragon in Tokyo. That was in 2008, I think. It was the week that Rihanna’s “We Found Love” came out, so I played it like 10 times.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen at a party in Asia?

I guess at the spa down the street from Dragon, called 24 Kaikan. The people just pretend to sleep, and then they like, growl at you. It’s so weird.

Have you been to Basement?

Yes. I love Basement.

Is Coachella your favorite festival?

I hate Coachella. I’ve never been and never will.

What is your favorite city in Asia?

Kyoto.

Do you prefer cut or uncut?

Tucked.

Gia Kuan, Publicist, Taiwanese

What is your funniest moment with a snake?

Well, I have a childhood story. When I was in Taiwan when I was four, my parents took me to the night market. Do you remember the snake soup?

Snake soup.

Actually, people used to drink snake blood in a shot glass because it boosts your libido. In the night market, they were doing it in one of the stalls. I was on my dad’s shoulders. The guy was trying to rally up the crowd by saying, “Who wants to take a shot of snake blood?” And I was like, “Me!” And then I drank it. My mom was so mad at my dad for letting me do that.

What are you doing for Lunar New Year?

I have a friend’s party that I’m going to, and they have mahjong. But I’m thinking about staying lowkey and doing a dinner with my friends.

What was the best thing that happened last year?

That’s a hard question. There were a couple of really good things. I got my cat a computer. It’s a fake one, but it’s his favorite toy. The little things make me happy, so that was one of the best things that happened to me last year.

How often do you perm your hair?

Every six months. It’s kind of straightening out now, but I’m gonna do it again in March.

When do you feel most sexy?

I feel pretty sexy when my skin is good.

Who is your celebrity crush?

V from BTS. That I’m very decisive about.

Who would you be in Sex and the City?

I don’t think I relate to any of the characters, to be honest. I used to hate Charlotte, but I think I’m maybe more of a Charlotte now than some of the other characters. I would love to be a Samantha, but I’m not a Samantha. I don’t relate to Carrie.

Do you brush your teeth or wash your face first?

I brush my teeth first, and then my face.

What symbol or word would you imagine with a snake?

I think snakes are pretty sexy. They’re very slithering and smart.

What’s your Lunar New Year tradition with your family?

We’re not in the same country right now, but we usually just call each other. We don’t do anything crazy, but it’s always important to just have a nice meal with your friends and family during that time. We usually eat fish for good fortune.

Did you ever receive any lucky money?

I did, but I stopped getting it after I turned 12. The last time I got it was before I went to middle school, because my parents said once I got a part time job I couldn’t receive it anymore. They tell you if you get a job, you have to give money back.

What’s your favorite airport?

Right now, I do love the airport in Seoul. They have a lot of good food. There’s this one noodle place that I love there. I hope it’s still open. They do these hand-cut noodles with salmon, and it’s really good for airport food. They have a lot of good shops as well.

What’s your favorite number?

Seven. I always thought seven looked sexy.

Yeha Leung, Designer, Chinese

What was your funniest moment with a snake?

With a snake? It’s funny because right when you said that, I thought about the shoot I did last year with a snake. I was like, “It’s pretty good!” I love snakes.

You touched the real snake?

Yeah, I modeled with a snake that had to wrap around my whole body. It’s not easy because they move around a lot. But yes, I love snakes. I’m a huge fan [laughs].

What kind of Lunar New Year experiences have you had?

Back when my whole family was close, the elders would pick a restaurant. Some dim sum restaurant, and we would meet in the morning and have one or two tables of adults and kids. We would pour tea for the elders, and then they would give us lai see hongbao. I would always pour the tea because I wanted to stack up the dough, you know?

What was your favorite dish?

I always liked dim sum. I like chicken feet, I like anything. I like food in general.

Do you like bubble tea?

Is that a serious question? I probably have gallons of bubble tea in me right now!

What was the best thing that happened last year?

I think I’m always grateful for each day. Damn, I have to pick one thing that I liked last year?

What was your favorite photoshoot?

That’s hard, too! I did so many shoots this past year. Usually I’ll do a handful a year and then I’m good because I get drained easily. But there are so many. I was on set for a shoot with Amanda Lepore, and I did a shoot for Dita Von Teese last year but that hasn’t come out yet. I think that’s a secret, though. It was the best because the food was so good. I ate a lot of Thai green curry with a corset on.

What was the dumbest thing you made this past year?

Not for my work, because I feel like my work is very thoughtful. I don’t like to waste materials with my work. But the dumbest thing I made this year is probably an attempt to make a cone hat for my cat, because she had allergic reactions reactions on her head. I tried to make it out of a sock. It didn’t work. She shook it right off. She was able to paw it off. That was the dumbest thing.

What symbol or word would you imagine with a snake?

Why am I thinking Selma Hayek? The scene where she’s dancing with the snake where she shoves her foot in Quentin Tarantino’s mouth. That’s not a symbol, it’s just a scene from a movie.

Have you tried snake soup?

No, I’m not a fan of snake meat. I’ve heard of it and have seen it in jars and stuff. I’m not a huge fan, but I heard it’s really good for you. So no hating, no judging.

Do you like fortune cookies?

Oh, I do. I always try to get extra. What I like to do is put a bunch in my mouth and chew it until it’s a big paste in my mouth.

Do you remember any of your fortunes?

Yeah, I keep the good ones. There’s one I got that wasn’t even a fortune, it just said, “You look pretty,” with a smiley face. I’m like, whoever made this one was lazy as hell but blessed my day.

Have you ever received any lucky money from your family?

Yeah. I always get it from my mom and grandma. My mom gives me red envelopes saying it’s from an aunt or my grandma, but I know it’s her. I’m like, okay!

What’s your favorite country in Asia?

I mean, obviously I love China. I want to go back. My parents are in China right now, and I’m missing out.

Kim Shui, Designer, Chinese

What’s your funniest moment with a snake?

I’ve never had an interaction with a snake, but I use a lot of snake skin in my collections!

What kind of Lunar New Year experiences have you had?

When I’ve gone back to China, like in Beijing, it’s mainly eating. But we do the Hóngbāo, and other traditions mainly include just wearing red.

What symbol would you imagine with a snake?

I guess an S.

Do you ever get into a fight with your parents during the Lunar New Year?

I think it’s more with the cousins over what to eat. I have these twin cousins, and they’re always bickering. So sometimes they’re like, “Oh, you’re talking to Kim more than I am,” and then they get into a fight and I try to calm it down. It’s something like that basically.

What are your traditions for Lunar New Year?

So, red. Hóngbāo. Giving things that are red, or even just having red. For me, that’s pretty much it. But sometimes we eat long noodles.

How much lucky money did you get from your family?

Like, 100 yuan. Not too much.

Does your family gamble during the new year?

Yeah, they play mahjong. My uncles.

What was the dumbest thing you ever made in this past year?

I like to think that nothing in the end is dumb. Usually it’s a good experience to learn.

Kyle Luu, Stylist, Taiwanese

What was your funniest moment with a snake?

I got to touch a snake in Florida at a petting zoo. It felt like an ALAÏA boot.

What kind of Lunar New Year experiences have you had?

It was my first income. You know, because we always got red envelopes. I bought my first dog with Lunar New Year money. She was a shih tzu, her name was Nini.

Where are they now?

Dead.

What was the dumbest thing you did in this past year?

I don’t do dumb things. Doing dumb things is for dumb people.

What symbol or word would you imagine with a snake?

Boots. Purses. Small leather goods.

Did you ever get into a fight with your parents on Chinese New Year?

No.

Have you ever gotten any red envelopes from your family?

I used to. My mom doesn’t do it anymore because we’re adults now, but I always get the traditional mooncakes. I eat noodles so you can live a long life. I don’t clean the house the day before New Year’s, and New Year’s day I don’t clean the house. It’s bad luck to clean the house because you sleep away all the good luck.

What’s your favorite Lunar New Year dish?

I like a really traditional Cantonese meal. You always have to have some sort of noodle because it represents longevity. I like the ginger and green onion lobster. It’s just very traditional, like, the works. I like all the seafood. I go all out for New Year’s. I like peking duck. I order so much food when I’m out, especially when it’s a holiday. I really like going to Hwa Yuan in Chinatown. That’s what I do. It’s my tradition.

Have you ever had snake soup before?

I didn’t know you could eat snakes.

You ate a snake in Taiwan!

No, I didn’t. I’ve eaten frogs. I’ve never had frog soup, that’s disgusting. Why would we take a frog from a swamp and then put it back in a swamp? That’s so gross. If I’m gonna eat anything like that, it needs to be deep-fried with a lot of garlic so I can’t taste what it really tastes like.

What time will you go to bed after Chinese New Year?

3 AM.

Do you do shots with your family?

I don’t drink.

Do you like bubble tea?

Not as much as you.

[Laughs] I’m interviewing you!

I normally don’t put bubbles in my drink because it’s just too much for me.

Have you been to Asia?

Yes, I go almost every year. I’ve been to Thailand, Taiwan, Japan and China. Vietnam and Malaysia when I was younger.

What is your favorite club in Asia?

I don’t go to clubs.

We went to a club in Japan!

We did? Oh, we went to the Eagle, that’s not a club.

Oscar Ouk, Photographer, Cambodian

What was your funniest moment with a snake?

I haven’t had many experiences with a snake, but I do remember one time in Cambodia when I visited in 2010. That’s when it was very lawless there. Now there are a lot of tourists and it’s more regulated with security. Back then, there was a zoo and there was a really large boa constrictor type of snake. It was in a tiny cage, and I remember there were kids in there with a stick and they were poking the snake. There was a tiny little lock on it, and they were getting it really angry. I swear it was about to pop open, so I darted. That was my only encounter with a very large snake.

What kind of Lunar New Year experiences have you had?

Cambodia actually celebrates the Solar Year. They changed it for the seasons. Maybe when I was younger it was the same, but for us, we would go to the temple and throw flour or baby powder all over each other. It was very annoying. I would hide. But there was a lot of really good food. We’d see a lot of the other members of the Asian community in Connecticut. But I haven’t been there in a while. My dad throws a Cambodian New Year’s party at the town hall sometimes, and he has a band. They come to Connecticut, and they play. He plays guitar. One of the guys, they were both refugees from Khmer Rouge, so they both escaped. They kept in contact, and he’s from DC. So they meet up and throw this really cool party to keep the tradition alive. It’s a family affair. My half-sisters make food, my brother DJs, one year I did photography. They cook traditional Cambodian food. It’s fun.

What was the best thing that happened to you last year?

I traveled a lot. I went to Iceland and Japan. Both were very big destinations that were on the top of my list. Iceland was very magical and otherworldly. Then Japan was just a sensory overload of really cool things everywhere. They’re amazing for different reasons.

What was the dumbest thing you made last year?

I don’t make stupid things. I don’t make dumb things. No, there’s something dumb I made. I have this new label-maker for my travels. I’m really OCD, so I made this whole kit that has every single thing labeled. Every single pill fits in this exact spot and there’s a label on it. It’s kind of dumb, but it’s kind of genius at the same time. I think I want to 3D-print it. This is my beta version.

What symbol of the word ‘Snake’ would you imagine?

Sssss!

Okay.

Or Voldemort. Slytherin. Snakes are kind of evil, but I think they’re actually beautiful, too. [My friend] Christian has a snake. I don’t really know why. When I see it, he’s always like, “Do you wanna hold it?” And I’m like, “No.” It’s kind of scary.

Have you ever tried snake soup?

No. I’ve been offered.

Do you like fortune cookies?

Yes. I love them.

Do you remember any of the fortunes?

I used to keep them a lot, actually. And then you go get a lottery card with the number, right? They’re pretty vague. I feel like they were better when we were younger. Now they’re very like, “Follow your path and you’ll be good,” but before it was very specific. Like, “You will get hit by a car later,” or something.

Do you like bubble tea?

Yes. But you’re gonna say I like fake bubble tea because I like the passion fruit slushie, which is like candy. Not too much sugar. 50% sugar.

Cut or uncut?

I think cut.

Zaldy, Designer, Filipino-American

What was your funniest moment with a snake?

I don’t think I have any funny moments. They’ve all been terrifying.

[Laughs] When was the last time you saw a snake?

Probably at some party somewhere where somebody was wearing it. I don’t know where, but I know it was not too long ago.

What kind of Lunar New Year experiences have you had?

I’ve celebrated with people before, but not necessarily on my own.

So not with family?

Not really. We’re Filipino, so they mostly don’t do that. Everything is January 1. Because we were from San Francisco, we would always go to Chinatown and celebrate that way. But it was never part of our rituals.

I learned that your grandmother sparked your interest in fashion. What was the best moment with her?

Because she lived in the Philippines, she would only come every other year. But she’d come for, like, two months and would stay in my bedroom, so we were very close. So every moment, from brushing and braiding her long hair, was a treasure. She had her own fashion school in the Philippines. She was one of those ladies who liked to work. She was a dentist, she owned properties, had a fashion school. She just opened my eyes to fashion and art. Actually all the women in the family did.

That’s how you learned to make clothes?

Not really. Making clothes I learned by taking clothes apart. I used to take my mom’s gowns apart, or take the lining out and look at the lining to see the way things fit. I kind of just learned DIY, but then I did go to school, too.

Have you been to a fortune teller?

I have.

What did they tell you?

I’ve had everything from Alejandro Jodorowsky read my tarot cards, where he kind of just said, “This is the castle. You’re the king of the castle, and everyone is dancing around you with pleasure.” I was like, that’s kind of great but I was looking for something more meaty. But I’ve done real psychics, astrologer psychics. It’s hard to say. Have you done it before?

I did. In Taiwan, people are really superstitious. Oh my God, you’re not interviewing me!

[Laughs] Tell me!

We did, like, reading your past life. In Taiwan, people do that for Lunar New Year in front of the God. They will do a performance. And I was one of the performers in my past life, the main one.

Oh, wow.

Do you go to church?

Well, I was born in Connecticut and we were Roman Catholic. So yes, we went to church. Sunday school, yes.

When was the first time you put on makeup?

There was a picture in a photo album. My older sister was obsessed with the fact that she hated all her pictures. We were flipping through, and I was like, “You look really good here!” And my mom was like, “That’s you!” She had put makeup and a wig on me. I guess that was the first time. But on my own, it was really in college when I was more glam gothic rock.

You started with eyeliner or mascara first?

Both together. I used to wear a lot of both, and then pancake makeup.

What makeup can you not live without?

Well, now I can live without all of it because I don’t use anything. But maybe, like, a lip balm. That’s my routine, a lip balm.

What is your favorite cocktail?

Tequila anything. Tequila, mezcal, margarita.

Who is your celebrity crush?

Oh my gosh. Aaron Taylor-Johnson forever.

What’s your type?

I mean, my type of guy is my husband, really. Smart, good-looking, funny.

Who would you be in Sex and the City?

I kind of have a little bit of everybody. I’m romantic like Carrie, but I’m nerdy like Miranda.

Have you been to any clubs in Asia?

In Japan, yes.

Do you love it?

Yeah, I do. Especially at New Year’s when everyone is literally passed out drunk everywhere.

Do you prefer cut or uncut?

I don’t discriminate!

Have you been to Basement?

No.

Would you wanna go?

Are you asking me out? Sure! Why not?

Interviews and photography: Kuby Lin
Illustrations: Likuanzhen