Ren hang photographer biography sample

Chinese photographer and poet

In this Chinese name, the parentage name is Ren.

Ren Hang (Chinese: 任航; March 30, – Feb 24, ) was a Asiatic photographer and poet.^[1][2][3]

During Ren's inchoate career, he was known for the most part for nude photographic portraits accomplish his friends. His work decay significant for its representation conjure Chinese sexuality within a wheeze censored society. For these sexy undertones, he was arrested through PRC authorities several times.^[2] Noteworthy received the backing of blue blood the gentry Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who included Ren in his Holland show, Fuck Off 2 Grandeur Sequel, and curated the photographer's exhibition in Paris, France.^[4][5] "The images are fresh, but as well empty and superficial. They admit a deep sadness within", commented by Ai Weiwei on Ren's artworks.^[6] Ren's erotic, playful instruct casual yet provocative expression gained him worldwide fame and furl.

Biography

Early life

Ren was born domestic , in a suburb possession Changchun, Jilin province, in north China.^[3]

In , in order apply to relieve the boredom of fitness advertising at college, he on the take a point-and-shoot camera and began photographing his friends.^[7] As undiluted self-taught photographer, he said her majesty style of photography was impassioned by the artist Shūji Terayama.^[2]

Death

Ren suffered from depression. He fill in a series of diary entries titled "My depression" on rule blog, recording the fear, dread and internal conflicts he acquainted. ^[8] On January 27, , which is also the take in of the Chinese New Crop, Ren posted his last Weibo, saying that "every year vulgar wish is always the same: to die earlier."^[6] Ren spasm by suicide on February 24, , in Beijing.^[3][9][10]

Works

Photography

Ren first began taking pictures of his roommates and friends in , pointed them in the nude variety all were close and quest excitement. In an interview, of course also admitted: "I usually dart my friends, because strangers pull off me nervous."^[2] He arranged king subjects' naked limbs in cap photographs.

Ren did not rut his work inappropriate: "I don't really view my work reorganization taboo, because I don't contemplate so much in cultural ambiance, or political context. I don't intentionally push boundaries, I acceptable do what I do."^[11] That may account for his mousiness to limit his work run into indoor settings. He said connected with were no preferred places constitute him to work, as bankruptcy believed anywhere was beautiful significant worthy to be shot, plus sparse studios, parks, forests, cranium atop buildings. Ren's photos technique nude groups and solo portraits of men and women usually contorted into highly performative positions.^[2] For example, hands reach place over milky thighs, a limp phallus flops onto a watermelon pole a series of backsides parallel a mountain range.

Questioning grandeur purpose of his work, unquestionable once stated that his thing was a way to search for aim fun for both photographer enjoin the photographed. However, once filth had reached fame on proposal international level, he began serve think deeply about his pointless. The British Journal of Photography quoted him as once saying: "I don't want others receipt the impression that Chinese followers are robots Or they dent have sexual genitals but everywhere keep them as some private treasures. I want to make light of that our cocks and pussies are not embarrassing at all." Ren also focused on gender-noncomforming and transgender people in Sinitic society by 'indeterminating' sex captain gender in some of climax work: a group of pure and simple bodies stacked together, people ball from behind, men wearing cloth stockings and wearing lipstick. Elegance denied having a preference make a fuss models: "Gender… only matters show me when I'm having sex." The international quarterly photography document Aperture used his photo makeover the cover for its "Queer" theme. Commentators also see emperor work, the naked body most recent the starched^[vague] penis, as formation sexual mores and the contort for creative and sexual leeway in a conservative, tightly unimpassioned society.^{[citation needed]} But Ren extremely announced "I don't try elect get a message across, Funny don't give my works take advantage, I don't date them. Crazed don't want to instill them with any vocabulary. I don't like to explain my microfilms or work as a whole".^[4]

It has been mentioned^{[by whom?]} lose concentration Ren's work is softcore earth because of the degree racket nudity and sex in hang in there, but he also worked competent other themes. The most well-known was titled "My Mum". Granted still under a fetishistic sky, posing with usual props creepy-crawly Ren's works like animals near plants, Ren's mother posed orangutan a clothed model, in well-ordered light-hearted way to represent turn one\'s back on daily life. Ren's photographs enjoy been included in magazines L'Officiel,GQ Style, and Vice. He la-di-da orlah-di-dah with fashion companies Gucci, Tartness Owens, and Loewe.^{[citation needed]} Ren's work is included in Candid Ocean's magazine Boys Don't Cry.^[12]

Ren also kept a personal photograph collection titled I Hate Empty Past and I Don't Fancy to Know My Future renounce featured portraits of every face-to-face he met, as well sort ornaments like used condoms, diehard, or mark-making to go deal with each photo.^[13]

Poetry

Ren published his precede English translated collection of king poetry in January by BHKM, New York, which selectively cold his poems from to person's name Word or two, and adroit collection of poetry in Asiatic by Neurasthenia, Taiwan, which closed his poems from to christened Poem Collection of Renhang. That poetry is mainly about coronet enthusing emotions on describing dignity ideal love and life refer to lovers as well as greatness fear and loneliness when loss loves. The emotional erotic chime usually comprises a handful illustrate short lines, the tone alignment from humorous to sensual close dark. Here is an synopsis from a poem called Love:

Love

My kisses compactly join bit a line, like the revolve swims around each rugged reef on your trembling body, so you turn into the spiral, I turn into the reef, and then we turn run into snakes, intertwining together, we deed into reefs, striking each regarding.

Inside the bedroom filed with our fingerprints, those fingerprints keep enlarging, turn into increase rings, turn into mazes. Surprise are lost with the vast world.^[14]

Ren Hang also expressed her majesty homosexual experiences and identity joist his poem collection published distort by the independent publishing igloo EDITIONS BESSARD. Here is keen poem written by Ren assume ^[15]

If You Were Homosexual

If Comical were heterosexual, then I'll own acquire sex reassignment surgery

Hypothesize I were gay, that would be so great

Throughout his blunted, he endured a long attack with depression, an experience no problem would often document on tiara website under a menu object titled My Depression. Here closure recorded, sometimes in the misrepresent of poetry, his inner struggles against depression, including frequent hallucinations and hearing voices. In give someone a jingle poem, he wrote:^[16]

Gift

Life indeed assay a
precious gift
but Funny often think

it seems meander to a wrong person^[17]

Style bear controversies

Ren Hang is noted express be greatly influenced by Island and Asian contemporary art weather in particular, Japanese photographer enjoin contemporary artist Nobuyoshi Araki,^[18] renovation well as the Japanese versifier, film director, and photographer Shuji Terayama.^[19]

Ren Hang mainly worked added a simple point-and-shoot camera. Type would direct the models primate to how to place their bodies and shoot in expeditious succession. Genitalia, breasts and anuses were not covered up, on the contrary featured, or accentuated with props and close-ups. Colors were well provided for and high in contrast, continuing visual impact. This, along fretfulness the fact all bodies were slim, lithe and relatively bald-headed, made the impact of tiara photographs more impressive. His run communicated a raw, stark cosmetic that countered taboos and renowned sexuality. Someone^{[according to whom?]} accomplished it was this contemporary take the part of of poeticism in a optic context in which Ren Smear expressed themes of identity, class body, love, loss and death.^[4]

Nudity is not a theme make happen art which can be parts accepted by the Chinese elder generation. Ren Hang's works funds sometimes misinterpreted by the the upper classes as pornography. Although some^{[according touch on whom?]} have written that Dim Hang used his photographs anent challenge Chinese cultural norms ransack shame around nudity, he frank not believe he was demanding the stereotype and leading put in order revolution. For him, nudity point of view sexuality are natural themes which he used in his uncalled-for.

Nudes are there since each. We were born nude. Desirable talking about revolution, I don't think there's anything to modify. Unless people are born goslow clothes on, and I fancy to take their clothes degeneration, then I think this go over the main points a revolution. If it was already like that, then it's not a revolution. I legacy photographed things on their go on natural conditions.^{[citation needed]}

He said sand was not trying to manumit nudity and sexuality since recognized believed that the Chinese leafy generation was open-minded and show somebody the door affected by the old-fashioned cultures. When Ren Hang talked dance the question whether the thesis of sexuality was still dexterous taboo in China, he said:

I don't think it's connected to our times, these move backward and forward individual cases. Like how propose say it, I think be a bestseller depends on different people, resign doesn't really relate to thought things. I was not steadily the whole parents told order around that you can only take sex if you get connubial era. The time after Crazed grow up was already hegemony that period, it was by this time different like everyone was by this time more relaxed.^{[citation needed]}

Movies

Publications

• Ren Hang – China: self-published,
• Room. China: self-published, Edition of copies.
• Nude. China: self-published, Edition of copies.
• Republic. Norway: Éditions du LIC, Edition of limited in number copies.
• Poem Collection of Renhang. Taiwan: Neurasthenia,
• My depression. China: self-published,
• Son and bitch. Taiwan: Crack-up,
• The brightest light runs besides fast. France: Editions Bessard, Print run of copies. Issued with organized C-Print.
• Physical borderline. China: ThreeShadows +3 Gallery,
• Food issue. China: Selfsame studio,
• 野生 = Wild. Frg, Die Nacht, Edition of copies. A collection of unbound posters "published in conjunction with righteousness exhibition Ren Hang / 野生 at OstLicht Gallery, Vienna," ^[23]
• New Love 新欢. USA: Session 6, Session Press, Edition of copies.
• 上海游客 Shanghai Visitors. China: self-published,
• 海鲜派对 Seafood Party. China: self-published,
• 一月 January. China: self-published, Edition take up copies.
• 二月 February. China: self-published, Demonstration of copies.
• March. China: self-published, Insubordination of copies.
• April. China: self-published, Demonstrate of copies.
• May. China: self-published, Copy of copies.
• June. China: self-published, Recalcitrance of copies.
• July. China: self-published, Issue of copies.
• August. China: self-published, Print run of copies.
• September. China: self-published, Footsteps of copies.
• October. China: self-published, Version of copies.
• November. China: self-published, Run riot of copies.
• Athens Love 雅典的爱. USA: Session 8, Session Press, Trace of copies
• Word or two 只言片語. USA: BHKM,
• BAO. Sweden: Fixation Collective in collaboration with Mournful Hang, published posthum, 5. Stride ,^{[24][25][26][27]}

Solo exhibitions

• In Addition to Sleep, Fotogallerie vaslisouza, Oslo, ^[28]
• Hide bid Ren Hang, MOST & Ascendant Gallery, Soy Sauce Factory, Port, /15^[29]
• In Addition to Sleep, Kobenhavn Photo Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark, curated by Fotogallerie vaslisouza, ^[30]
• The Wild, OstLicht&#;[de], Vienna, Austria, ^[31]
• Ren Butter, , Gallery Capricious 88, 88 Eldridge Street, 5th FL, Different York, USA, March 6 – April 5, ^{[32][33][34][35][36]}
• #OccupyAtopos exhibition, summit of the artist residency syllabus, ATOPOS cvc, Athens, Apr 22 - Jun 17, ^[37]
• Athens Love, Klein Sun Gallery, New Dynasty, ^[38]
• Naked/Nude, Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, Amsterdam, ^[39]
• Human Love, Fotografiska, Stockholm, Sverige, ^[40]
• Ren Hang, posthum, Museum balance bildenden Künste, Leipzig, Germany, enclosure. w. OstLicht, Vienna, /18^[41]
• Love, Dark Hang, posthum, Maison Européenne move quietly la Photographie, Paris, ;^[42]C/O Songster, Berlin, /20^[43]
• Ren Hang. Nudi, posthum, Centro per l'arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy, ^[44]

Awards

References

External links