Luo Yang’s GIRLS belong to a part of contemporary China that is rarely taken note of in the West. Her portraits depict an emerging Chinese subculture that defies imposed expectations and stereotypes – GIRLS are bad-assed and self-aware, yet insecure, vulnerable and torn, with a supreme sense of cool. Beijing-based artist Luo Yang photographs the girls around her, attempting to grasp an understanding of their lives as well as her own. Although different, they share the same ambivalent emotions, confusions and concerns. It is in that connection that Luo finds the strength and fragility of her subject. Her images are bold and up-front, intimate and sensitive at the same time. They explore the themes of youth and femininity, while challenging traditional beliefs about women in Chinese society. As such, Luo’s GIRLS reflect a view on life in China that both celebrates and defies its reality.
Luo Yang, born 1984 in Liaoning, China, is a freelance photographer living and working in Beijing & Shanghai. In 2012, Ai Weiwei designated her one of the “rising stars of Chinese photography” (New Statesman). She has had exhibitions all over China and participated in major shows in Europe, amongst them Ai Weiwei’s “FUCK OFF 2” at the Groninger Museum, Netherlands, in 2013. In her work, highly staged portraits and carefully constructed poses alternate with a raw, blurred snapshot-aesthetic.
An exhibition brought to you by MO-Industries, a POP-UP gallery project staging cultural exchange between Asia and Germany.
Opening: Friday, May 20, 2016, 19-23:30h (Facebook Event)
Exhibition: May 21 – June 5, 2016
Opening hours: Tue-Sat 13-20h
Admission free
HERE THE LINK http://www.photography-in.berlin/mo-industries-luo-yang-girls/
