Ren Hang on nature, nudity and censorship

‘My pictures’ politics have nothing to do with China. It’s Chinese politics that wants to interfere with my art’

Photographer Ren Hang has certainly made a name for himself. In art circles around the world as photography's new blood, shooting his friends in the nude and avoiding the arm of the law back in his homeland of China – where his name is known for a different reason. Notably, to the authorities who are hell bent on censoring him – even threatening him with arrest. “They won’t bother my lifestyle, but they will arrest me if I’m taking pictures outside,” says the Beijing-born artist. For the moment, he’s in New York at Capricious 88 gallery where his work has just gone on display in an exhibition titled 2014, his first in the city.

“My pictures’ politics have nothing to do with China. It’s Chinese politics that wants to interfere with my art,” he says. “China doesn’t allow outdoor nudity. I’m very careful about taking pictures outside. If I see police, I’ll run. But I’m not hiding as I’m taking pictures.” Although Hang is new gen (born in 1987) his determination mimics that of his fellow Beijing creatives, such as Ai Weiwei, who, co-curated a show with Hang in 2013. Weiwei uses his art for activism, employing mixed media to advocate for human rights and oppression and was thrown in jail in 2011 for 81 days – he's now banned from leaving China at all. “I care that the government want to limit me. Of course I don’t want to go to jail, but I don’t think there’s a way to fix that,” says Hang.

For Hang, he's keen to reassert that his work isn't about politics. “China has had little influence to me. If I was born in America, I would like American models. If I was born in England, I would pick English models. When I take a picture, I’m not sure what I want. It’s only when I see the picture that I realise what I want.” Intertwining the nude with nature, Hang’s images are recognisable as a jumble of bodies, limbs, flowers and plants. Previously we’ve seen hands reaching down milky thighs, a limp penis flop onto a watermelon and a series of backsides imitating a mountain range. “It’s more natural if they’re not wearing clothes,” he muses on his fascination between the two elements. His latest work, 2014, explores the ‘optics’ of camouflage where bodies disappear beneath lily pads, arms multiply like Hindu gods and plumes of pink smoke escape from a woman's privates: “When you look at them, they look like they should be together.” For Hang, this really is just a bunch of limbs in front of a camera. There's no statement to be made. No fight to be had against the institutions that govern him. Here, in Hang's world, nudity and nature go hand-in-hand and that's all there is to it.

Voir mes précédents billets sur REN HANG : 

Ren Hang (photographe)       14/12/2014

Ren Hang : censuré en Chine, exposé à...     08/11/2014

Ren Hang : censuré en Chine, exposé à...     06/11/2014

Chinese Art Stripped Bare     11/08/2014

Ren Hang (photographe)       31/07/2014

Ren Hang était à Paris           23/04/2014

Ren Hang, sexe, amour et censure...  16/02/2014

Les filles de… Ren Hang      09/02/2014

Découvrez le jeune photographe de 26...      01/02/2014

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The fashion photographer's eye for erotica with Gisele, Isabeli Fontana and Anja Rubik

From high-gloss nudes to slick-skinned supermodels, highlights from Mario Testino’s three-decade career are brought together in Extremes, a new solo exhibition at Yvon Lambert gallery in Paris. After arriving in London in the 1970s, the photographer waited tables and sold portfolios to aspiring models for £25 while learning the tricks of the trade. Following breakout commissions in international Vogues, he was soon shooting campaigns for Burberry, Miu Miu and Gucci, but he has recently expanded his body of work with a tribute to traditional Peruvian costumes, Alta Moda, which translates as “high fashion” in Spanish. Extremes presents this five-year project for the first time in Europe, as well as showcasing his close-knit relationship with the celebrity world (he has shot royalty as well as Hollywood favorites). “His sense of fashion has transformed many of his portraits into icons,” notes the opening statement of the exhibition catalog. “Anyone whom he photographs embodies the spirit of the moment.”

Extremes is at Yvon Lambert from June 6 through July 24, 2014.

La photographe Mihaela Noroc expose son tour du monde de la beauté féminine

Elles ont la peau blanche, mate, noire, pigmentée de tâches de rousseur ou rougie par le froid, les yeux bleus, verts, marrons, bridés, en amande, ronds, petits et grands.

Elles sont brésiliennes, russes, chiliennes, tibétaines, éthiopiennes, de cultures et de langues différentes mais réunies par un aspect : leur beauté.

La photographe roumaine Mihaela Noroc a couru le monde à la recherche de portraits féminins. D'une traversée de 37 pays, la jeune femme de 29 ans a rapporté des dizaines de clichés représentant la diversité des visages, véritable brassage des continents. Résultat de sa quête, un « atlas de la beauté » numérique a été publié sur son compte Instagram.

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Le photographe Roger Kisby a photographié des portraits intimes de stars féminines et masculines du porno durant les Adult Video News Awards, une cérémonie de remise de prix pour l’industrie du cinéma pornographique. Selon Kisby, ces awards sont comme les Oscars du porno américain.

Ces portraits sont une manière pour Roger Kisby de montrer qu’au-delà de l’étiquette de stars du porno qui pour certains leur colle littéralement à la peau (tatouages, implants, etc.), ces acteurs peuvent également être des individus calmes, posés et naturels lorsqu’ils ne sont pas sur scène.

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Elle était annoncée en Juillet, là voilà maintenant disponible dans les kiosques. Playboy publie son édition spéciale "California Dreamin'" consacrée aux clichés de Terry Richardson. Sur son Tumblr, Richardson dévoile des mannequins nues qui prennent la pose dans des lieux comme le parc national de Joshua Tree ou le château Marmont.  Le sulfureux photographe, blacklisté par des magazines comme Vogue US, maintient ses collaborations avec des grands noms malgré de multiples accusations de harcèlement sexuel. Harper's Bazaar continue également de travailler avec l'homme controversé et publiait mercredi sur son site, une série de photos en son honneur.