Housed in a grand hotel in the very heart of le Marais district, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, or ‘MEP Paris’ for short, is a must-go for contemporary photography lovers (try Jeu de Paume in the garden of Tuileries if you are more into more classical and modern period photography). In this rainy, grey Parisian spring, MEP holds the first ever exhibition in France dedicated to the late Chinese photographer and poet Ren Hang, who took his own life at the age of 29 in 2017.
An ingenious artist with an easily recognizable style of highly contrasted colors, Ren Hang shot his models, mostly his friends, all naked, genitals exposed and accentuated, bodies overlapped, in a crappy hotel bedroom, or inside a wild bush, or on a rooftop against the background of the smoky grey Chinese urban scene. More than 150 works exhibited show Ren Hang’s quest for identity, sexuality and homosexuality, as well as his audacious pursuit for the liberty of creation against the repressive political and social context.
“LOVE, REN HANG” from March 6th to May 26th. Get your tickets in advance, well, get tickets online if you plan to visit literally any exhibition on the weekends, that’s how passionate Parisians are for art. Even though the security level is a bit below the Parisian museum standard, be prepared for very crowded show rooms. But what awaits is the mesmerizing power of images both contemporary Chinese photography and Parisian photographic art scene have to offer!
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