Ren Hang

Ren Hang, °1987-2017 Jilin, China

Naked youths, mostly Chinese and every one as beautiful and unashamed as the next, take centre stage in the work of Ren Hang. Swans, peacocks, fish and snakes, as well as cherries, apples, flowers, plants and trees are all employed as absurd yet poetic accessories. The male models usually come from Hang’s own circle of friends, while the female models apply through the photographer’s website. The girls all meet his ideal of beauty: lily-white skin, usually black hair, red lipstick and painted nails. They pose willingly in well-balanced poses, or intimately entwined in sophisticated bodily compositions. Although very much staged and often provocatively explicit in the display of sexual organs, Ren Hang’s work is not necessarily pornographic. In his work, the human body takes on sculptural forms and seems primarily to want to break through the taboos surrounding the body and the sexes.

( Foam Amsterdam)