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Ren Hang (Controversy (He aimed to undermine Chinese conservatism, Was…
Ren Hang
Controversy
He aimed to undermine Chinese conservatism
Was arrested multiple times
His photos have been defaced at exhibitions or confiscated by officials
His websites have been pulled offline
Despite all this, he did not stop out of the self-satisfaction that he got whenever he sees his photos.
Style
He was very expressive about sexuality and the metaphors of desire, which latter became a bold stance that revolutionized the contemporary world
Often very abstract and provocative
Displays nudity and vulnerability of the human anatomy
His models are often naked and pale Chinese youths who wear stoic or blank expressions.
His style made him the most popular contemporary artist in Asia.
Background
Born in 1987 in North East China’s Jilin
dubbed the “Detroit of China”, at 20-years-old Ren was studying advertising but found himself restless.
He found a remedy with a point-and-shoot camera and he began taking photos of his friends – namely, his housemate in the nude
Less than a decade later, his work would have crisscrossed the world with exhibitions in cities such as Athens, Bangkok, New York, Paris, Vienna, Hong Kong, and more.
His Suicide
His depression has lead him to his own demise
Based in Beijing at the time of his death, tragically he was just one month shy of his 30th birthday.
Ren Hang suffered from cyclical depression, something he documented through his poetry, under the title My Depression.
On his website, he wrote candid entries about his struggle with the illness, which included frequent hallucinations and hearing voices.