PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai 2018 影像上海 2018 PHOTOFAIRS

With top galleries, artists, curators, and collectors from around the world in attendance every year, PHOTOFAIRS | Shanghai has established itself as a leading photography exhibition in Asia and become a must-go event for photography and art enthusiasts.

In this edition of Neocha Roundup, we’ve compiled a list of a few exhibiting Asian photographers who you should keep be keeping an eye on when attending this year.

Previously featured on our magazine, Hong Kong-based photographer Chan Dick will be exhibiting his Chai Wan Fire Station series at this year’s event. The award-winning photo series is a charming look at the daily life and routines of firefighters from an aerial perspective.  

Born in 1982, Ma Qiusha is a young artist who’s been making waves in the Chinese contemporary art scene. Her interdisciplinary art, spanning across include video, photography, installation, performance art, uses mundane and personal experiences to explore the complexities and nuances of interpersonal relationships.

Often using photography to explore philosophical and abstract concepts, Chen Wei creates cinematic images that tread the line between reality and fantasy. One of his most iconic series, In the Waves, takes place in a neon-lit nightclub. Through the unexpected setting, he highlights the sense of alienation between humans in modern times.

After winning the National Geographic Picks Global Contest with an image of Sichuan’s Wenchuan Earthquake, photographer Zhang Kechun was inspired to explore and document the state of contemporary China. In Between Mountains and Rivers, he presents a series of bleak, gloomy scenes shrouded in a veil of perpetual haze. By focusing on landscapes that have been artificially altered or destroyed, the project examines the impact that humans have on the natural world.

As a seasoned photographer, Jiang Pengyi boasts a diverse body of work that ranges from documentary works to conceptual art. For his In Some Time series, it almost looks the artist has been dabbling with watercolor painting. While no cameras were involved, each image was created inside a dark room using fluorescent paper and large-format film. Between the pastel colors and soft tones, each image feels airy and dreamlike.

Born in the 1980s, Miao Ying’s artistic sensibilities have been largely shaped by her upbringing through the digital era. A decade ago, she became one of the first few graduates from the New Media Department of the China Academy of Art. Her work examines the role of pop culture in our lives as well as the relationship between different art mediums and everyday aesthetic experiences. When seeing the humorous contrasts of her work, it’s hard to not crack a smile.

An unexpected sense of melancholy emanates from the photography of Chen Xiaoyi. His experimental style was developed after winning the seventh annual Three Shadows award, a prominent Chinese photography competiton. The monochromatic works he now produces are abstract, complex, and desolate all at the same time. While they don’t depict any specific person, object, or event, they remain inexplicably compelling.

Based in Beijing, Yang Yuanyuan’s creative journey began after graduating from the London School of Communication with a degree in photography in 2013. Traveling through Poland, Brazil, and countless other countries, her documentary-style photography offers a poetically serene look at the relationship between people and their environments. While photography is her primary focus, her artistic practices now also include story writing, video, and more.

Shibari (or Kinbaku) is the art of Japanese bondage and the main focus of photographer Leh YSL’s works. While her work might be seen as erotic desire, this isn’t necessarily the case. “For most people, as soon as they see the ropes, they automatically relate it to something sexual without seeing the stories being conveyed through my pictures,” she says. “It was from a more artistic perspective that I started learning Kinbaku, but I do also practice it from a BDSM perspective privately. If the objective of tying is for a photo shoot, I’m focused on the creative process, poses, colors, compositions, being able to convey the story and emotions in a picture.”

From street snaps to conceptual photography, Yoshinori Mizutani is a Japanese photographer who’s well-versed in a variety of photographic styles. His creatively composed photos inject newfound vitality and beauty into ordinary moments that are often overlooked.

Chinese visual artist Liu Di is constantly redefining what it means to be a photographer through his elaborate, unconventional images. His Animal Regulations series, which we’ve previously featured, does just this. By placing digital images of gargantuan beasts in familiar cityscapes, the project examines the relationship between civilization and nature.

In photographer Pixy Liao‘s ongoing photo series, Experimental Relationships, she looks to challenge the gender dyanmics of heterosexual relationships. Throughout the series, her boyfriend is shown as being a vulnerable, submissive, and sensitive partner. By depicting him with these traits that are stereotypically associated with women, the Shanghai-born hopes for people to reconsider their expectations of gender norms.

PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai 2018 will once again be taking place at the Shanghai Exhibition Center. With over 50 international and Chinese galleries in attendance and the support of Shanghai’s leading museums, this year’s showing will be split into “Main” and “Platform” exhibitions. The former will be a showcase of contemporary works from top galleries around the world, while the latter will be highlighting emerging artists and up-and-coming galleries. The exhibition will also be split into four different themed sectors: Staged, Insights, Spotlight, and Conversation. 

As one of PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai’s media partners, we’re happy to announce that we’ll be offering our readers tickets at a 15% discount when they use the code photofairsneocha at checkout. Click here to purchase tickets.

Event: 2018 PHOTOFAIRS | Shanghai
Exhibition Date: September 21, 2018 ~ September 23, 2018
Hours:
12 pm ~ 6 pm (September 21)
11 am ~ 6 pm (September 22, 23)

Address:
1000 Yan’an Road, near Tongren Road
Shanghai Exhibition Centre
Jing’an District, Shanghai
People’s Republic of China

Website: www.photofairs.org
Facebook: ~/photofairs
Instagram: @photofairs

Contributor: Yang Yixuan, Chen Yuan