Ren Hang

Ren Hang (Chinese name: 任航 ; pinyin: Rèn Háng, March 30, 1987 – February 24, 2017) was a Chinese photographer and poet. He was born in 1987, in a suburb of Changchun, Jilin province，in northeastern China.

During Hang's incipient career, he was known mostly for nude photographic portraits of his friends. Hang's work is significant for its representation of Chinese sexuality within a heavily censored society.  And for this erotic undertones, Hang was arrested by PRC authorities several times. His art trajectory was backed by the famed contemporary Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei, who included Hang in his 2013 Netherlands show, "Fuck Off 2 The Sequel", and curated the photographer's 2014 exhibition in Paris, France. His erotic, playful and casual yet provocative expression made him rise to fame worldwide.

Early life

Hang attended the Communication University of China where he majored in advertising, though his interest quickly turned to photography rather than his studies. In 2007, he began to take pictures of his friends. Ren introduced the reason why he began to shoot in an interview,"It was really boring in college. That's when I first started playing with the camera. I was around 17 or 18". In order to “relieve boredom”, Hang bought a point-and-shoot camera and began shooting nude images of his friends. As a self-taught photographer, he said his style of photography was inspired by the artist Shūji Terayama.

Death

Hang was also known to be suffering from depression. He posted an article titled "My depression" on his blog, recording the fear, anxiety and internal conflicts he suffered from. Hang took his own life by jumping from the 28th floor of a building in Beijing.

Photography

Hang first began taking pictures of his roommates and friends in 2007, shooting them in the nude as all were close and seeking excitement. In an interview, Hang also admitted: “I usually shoot my friends, because strangers make me nervous.” He arranged his subjects' naked limbs in his hide-and-seek photographs in a style which made him a minor celebrity among promising young photographers.

In spite of the nude and taboo nature in his works, Hang did not consider his work inappropriate: “I don’t really view my work as taboo, because I don’t think so much in cultural context, or political context. I don’t intentionally push boundaries, I just do what I do.” This can account for his reticence to limiting his work to settings indoors. He said there were no preferred places for him to work, as he believed anywhere was beautiful and worthy to be shot, from sparse studios to parks and forests, and even in atop buildings. Hang’s photo has a very distinct personal characteristics, featuring nude group and solo portraits of men and women often contorted into highly performative positions. For example, we will see hands reaching down milky thighs, a limp penis flop onto a watermelon and a series of backsides imitating a mountain range.

By freely sharing his works through various websites and his Facebook, Instagram and Flickr accounts, Hang accrued thousands of devoted young fans. Questioning the purpose of his work, he once stated that his creation a way to seek fun for both photographer and the photographed. However, once he had reached fame on an international level, he began to think deeply about his works. The British Journal of Photography quoted him as once saying: "I don't want others having the impression that Chinese people are robots... Or they do have sexual genitals but always keep them as some secret treasures. I want to say that our cocks and pussies are not embarrassing at all." Ren also focused on the marginal population with gender identity disorders within Chinese society by 'indeterminating' sex and gender in some of his works: group of nude bodies stacked together, men wearing silk stockings and wearing lipstick. He denied having a preference in models: “Gender… only matters to me when I’m having sex.” The international quarterly journal specializing in photography called Aperture used his photo as the cover of the theme Queer. Commentators also see his work, the naked body and the starched penis, as evolving sexual mores and the struggle for creative and sexual freedom in a conservative, tightly controlled society. But Hang also announced “I don't try to get a message across, I don't give my works names, I don't date them. I don’t want to instill them with any vocabulary. I don't like to explain my photos or work as a whole'.

Insiders indicate Hang’s work as softcore pornography for nudity, and sex as a theme was most pervasive in his work, but Hang also worked with other themes. The most famous one was called “My Mum”. Although still under a fetishistic atmosphere, posing with usual props in Ren's works like animals and plants, Ren's mother posed as a model not nude, but in a light-hearted way to represent her daily life. He also took photos for big brands and famous magazines like Boys Don't Cry, L'OFFICIEL, GQ Style and Vice.

Poetry

Hang has published one collection of poetry by Neurasthenia, Taiwan, which contained his poems from 2007 to 2013 named Poem Collection of Renhang. This collection of poetry mainly about his enthusing emotions on describing the ideal love and life with lovers as well as the fear and loneliness when losing loves. These emotional erotic poetry usually comprised a handful of short lines, their tone ranging from humorous to sensual to dark. Here is an extract from a 2016 poem called Love:

My kisses can be finely linked into a line, just like/

A snake slithers across every rugged reef rock on/

Your trembling body, afterwards you turn/

Into a snake, I turn into a rock, still afterwards we/

All turn into snakes, intertwined together, we/

All turn into rocks, hitting each other. 

He also wrote a collection of prose poems named My Depression recording his inner struggles against the depression, included frequent hallucinations and hearing voices. In one poem, he wrote:

Life is really one/

Precious gift/

But sometimes I feel that/

It has been given to the wrong person.

Though Ren always announced that his photography had no styles and no meanings. Audience still can see the shadow of Nan Goldin, Larry Clark and Robert Mapplethorpe from these archetypal, stylistic nudes harken on his photographs. However, the intense conflicts on tonal and the unusual posture the model performed on his shooting provided a sense of symbolism. 

Hang used a point-and-shoot camera to make film-loaded pictures was not a secret among photographers. He would ask the naked model stack, splay, or sprawl as he said directly and shoot in quick succession. On his oeuvre, sex organs, breasts and butt holes were not covered up, but featured, or accentuated with props and close-ups. Colors were showy and contrast, which made it a visual impact to the audience. This, along with the fact all bodies were slim, lithe and relatively hairless, made the genital impact much more impressive. Because he was not familiar in using flashlights, some of his oeuvre would be overexposed. However, through his photograph communicated a uniquely raw, stark aesthetic that batters taboos and celebrates sexuality. Someone concluded it was this contemporary form of poeticism in a visual context that expressed themes of identity, the body, love, loss and death were conveyed by the artist.

Nudity is not a theme in the artifacts which can be widely accepted by the Chinese old generation.Ren's works are mistreated by the public as pornography sometimes. Although some articles wrote that Ren used his photographs to cultural jamming traditional misunderstood which treated the nudity as a shame, Ren didn't believe he was challenging the stereotype and leading a revolution.For Ren, nudity and sexuality are natural themes which he shot in his works."Nudes are there since always. We were born nude. So talking about revolution, I don't think there's anything to revolutionize. Unless people are born with clothes on, and I want to take their clothes off, then I think this is a revolution. If it was already like that, then it's not a revolution. I just photographed things on their more natural conditions."Ren said he was not trying to liberate nudity and sexuality since he believed that Chinese young generation was open-minded and less affected by the old-fashioned cultures. When Hang talked about the question whether the topic of sexuality was still a taboo in China, Ren said:"I don't think it's related to our times, these are individual cases. Like how to say it, I think it depends on different people, it doesn't really relate to other things. I was not in the whole parents told you that you can only have sex if you get married era. The time after I grow up was already over that period, it was already different like everyone was already more relaxed."

• 2011, Ren Hang 2009-2011, Self-Published, China
• 2011, Room, Self-Published, China
• 2012, Nude, Self-Published, China
• 2013, Poem Collection of Renhang, Neurasthenia, Taiwan
• 2013, My depression, Self-Published, China
• 2013, Republic, Éditions du LIC, Norway
• 2013, Son and bitch, Neurasthenia, Taiwan
• 2013, The brightest light runs too fast, Editions Bessard, France
• 2014, Physical borderline, ThreeShadows +3 Gallery, China
• 2015, Food issue, Same studio, China
• 2015, 野生, Die Nacht, Germany
• 2015, New Love 新欢, Session press, USA
• 2015, 上海游客 Shanghai Visitors, Self-Published, China
• 2015, 海鲜派对 Seafood Party, Self-Published, China
• 2016, 一月 January, Self-Published, China
• 2016, 二月 February, Self-Published，China
• 2016, Athens Love 雅典的爱, Session press, USA

Solo exhibitions

2010

• 2010 October, Intercourse with Beijing, Yugong Yishan live house, Beijing, China
• 2010 July, Eat Naked Lunch!, yuyintang live house, Shanghai, China

2011

• 2011 October, Stillbirth, Yugong Yishan live house, Beijing, China
• 2011 October, Allergy, Kubrick, Beijing, China

2013

• 2013 May, Pulse, Galerie Jane Zhang, Frankfurt, Germany

2014

• 2014 December–January, HIDE, Soy Sauce Factory, Bangkok, Thailand
• 2014 September, Anatomy of the image, 104 Kléber Gallery, Paris, France
• 2014 August - October, Physical borderline 身体的边界, Three shadows +3 gallery, Beijing, China
• 2014 June, In addition to sleep, Copenhagen Photo Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark
• 2014 April - May, In addition to sleep, Vasli Souza gallery, Malmo, Sweden
• 2014 January -March, La chine a nue nue gallery, Paris Pantin, France

2015

• 2015 September–October, Tokyo, matchbaco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
• 2015 June–July, NEW LOVE 新欢, matchbaco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
• 2015 June–July, 形态 Morphology, HDM Gallery, Hangzhou, China
• 2015 April–June, Occupy Atopos #Ren Hang, Atopos cvc, Athens, Greece
• 2015 March–May, In Presence of Ren Hang, Stieglitz 19 Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium
• 2015 March–June, 野生, OstLicht Gallery, Vienna, Austria
• 2015 March–April, Ren Hang 2014，Capricious 88 Gallery, New York, USA
• 2015 January–February, MY MUM, Blindspot Gallery, Hong Kong, China

2016

• 2016 June–July, What we do is secret, MAMA Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
• 2016 March–April, Athens Love, Klein Sun Gallery, New York, USA
• 2016 March, 白日升天, Modernsky Lab, Beijing, China

2017

• 2017 January–March, Naked / Nude, Foam Photography Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• 2017 February–April, Human Love, Fotografiska museum, Stockholm, Sweden

Group exhibitions

2009

• 2009 December, 80’s and Peaceful Evolution visual group exhibition, Hong Kong, China
• 2009 September, Femininity. Photography—international photography exhibition ‘paradise with love’feminity theme photography exhibition, Nanjing, China
• 2009 August, Private talk, Shanghai, China
• 2009 June, Gender Divisity, Songzhuang Art Area, Beijing, China

2010

• 2010 December, The third Terna comtemporary art exhibition, Rome, Milan, Italy
• 2010 December, Warmth 2010 -2011 new year art exhibition, Shanghai, China
• 2010 November, New photography magazine photography exhibition, Hong Kong, China
• 2010 August, 798 festival young THis this is me with attitude photography exhibition, Beijing, China
• 2010 June, The first international art comtemporary festival of China ji me, Xiamen, China
• 2010 May, Into the mood, Hong Kong, China
• 2010 April, China Caochangdi photography Toratoratora photography exhibition, Caochangdi Arts District, Beijing, China
• 2010 April, Experiment 2010 Screenage art document exhibition, Songzhuang Art Museum, Beijing, China

2011

• 2011 December, FéROCES international photography festival 2011, France
• 2011 November, Restaurant Light Room photography exhibition, J Gallery, Shanghai, China
• 2011 October, Sour sweet bitter spicy—four photographers’ exhibition, Angers, France
• 2011 August, Rencontres d'Arles festival -The viewer exhibition, Arles, France
• 2011 July, Recurrent shadows—selected works from three shadows photography Awards 2008-2011, HE XIANG NING art museum, Shenzhen, China
• 2011 May, Young Movement, Iseael
• 2011 May, The fourth 54 international young art festival 2011, 798 art area, Beijing, China
• 2011 April, Three shadows photography award, Three shadows photography art centre, Beijing, China
• 2011 January, Curated by Rong Rong –Qiu&Ren Hang INner ear, UCCA, Beijing, China

2012

• 2012 September, Secret Love, Oriental Museum in Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
• 2012 September, Memory Lost and Found, Beijing Space Beijing, China
• 2012 July, Central Academy of Fine Arts First CAFAM future development, CAFA Art Museum, Beijing, China
• 2012 July, Féroces Ren Hang / Jordane Yarden Gaudenzi Double photographic exhibition, Avi Niang silk ,France
• 2012 May, Originate from energy resource, Multimedia Art Museum Moscow, Moscow, Russia
• 2012 March, Symptoms, Iberia Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China

2013

• 2013 November, Lian Zhou Foto 2013 -Curatorial Theme: Farewell to Experience, Lian Zhou, China
• 2013 November–December, The 2nd Conceptual Film Photography Show F518 Idea Land, Shenzhen, China
• 2013 November–December, True Panic- Photography Exhibition, Bowl Island Gallery, Beijing, China
• 2013 November, Photo Off—4th Edition La Bellevilloise, Paris, France
• 2013 Octorber-December, 1st Beijing photo biennial: Aura and Post Aura, China Millennium Monument, Beijing, China
• 2013 Octorber, ENTER Network real-time exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art in Shanghai, Shanghai, China
• 2013 September, Unseen Photo Fair, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• 2013 July–September, Faceless part 1, Museums Quartier, Vienna, Austria
• 2013 July–September, Atypical, Beijing Space, Beijing, China
• 2013 August, As the resident artist by invitation of Vienna Museums Quartier
• 2013 May, Fuck Off 2 Chinese Contemporary Art Document, Groninger Museum, Netherlands
• 2013 March, A Miscellany of Arts---The Visual Rhetoric of the Young Generation,Jinji lake art Museums, Suzhou, China
• 2013 March, Remote olaces, close spaces, Street Level Photoworks Gallery, Scotland, UK
• 2012 January, Equal relationships, Bilndspot Gallery, HongKong, China
• 2013 January, Fuck Taboo, Camera16 Gallery, Milan, Italy

2014

• 2014 November, Paris Photo, Grand Palais, Pairs, France
• 2014 November, Second Yuandian Contemporary Photography Festival, Ukiyo-phase, Yuandian Art Museum, Beijing, China
• 2014 November, Staging Encounters-Ten Years Of Contemporary Photography in China LIANZHOUPHOTO FESTIVAL, Lianzhou, China
• 2014 October - November, c/o Umbria World Fest Palazzo Trinci, Foligno, Italy
• 2014 September, Let it Louder, Sanlitun village orange Hall, Beijing, China
• 2014 September - October, Contemporary photography in China 2009-2014, Minsheng art museum, Shanghai, China
• 2014 August - September, New frontiers in contemporary photography, Tryffel Grisen Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
• 2014 July, Arles photo festival, le Magasin de Jouets Gallery, Arles, France
• 2014 June, Photolggendo, Via Del Commercio 13, Rome, Italy
• 2014 June, Artvilnius '14 International Contemporary Art Fair Congress center in Vilnius, Lithuania
• 2014 March - April, Three shadows frist experimental image open exhibition, Three shadows photography art centre, Beijing, China
• 2014 April–May, New photos since 2009, Wuhan Art Museum, Wuhan, China
• 2014 April, Art brussels , stieglitz19, Belgium
• 2014 January, Faceless Stichting Mediamatic, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• 2014 January, Chinese spring, stieglitz19, Belgium

2015

• 2015 November-2016 January, From Old Ground, Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Bathurst, Australia.
• 2015 November-2016 January, Medium of Desire: An International Anthology of Photography and Video, Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, New York, United States
• 2015 November, Contemporary Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
• 2015 October, Chinese photography: twentieth century and before, Three shadows photography art centre, Beijing, China
• 2015 September, Art International Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
• 2015 September, Yesterday We Wanted To Be The Sky，Kamarade Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
• 2015 July, New Chinese photography forces-Three Shadows Phatography Center at Tsumari, Echigo-Tsumari Art Festival, Tokyo Japan
• 2015 June - August, Three shadows second experimental image open exhibition, Three shadows photography art centre, Beijing, China
• 2015 June Photo Basel, Basel, Switzerland
• 2015 May Paris Photo, L.A, United States
• 2015 May Paris Photo, Brussels, Belgium
• 2015 May Art Miami New York, Miami, United States
• 2015 May–August Portrait of the World, Barbado Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal
• 2015 April–June Temporary Boundary, Paris Beijing Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
• 2015 March Art Paris art fair, Paris, France
• 2015 January–February Yangon Photo Festival, Yangon, Myanmar
• 2015 January, Three shadows +3 gallery Annual Exhibition, Three shadows +3 gallery, Beijing, China
• 2015 January–February, Faceless De Markten, Brussels, Belgium

2016

• 2016 October, DaikanYama Photo Fair, Tokyo, Japan
• 2016 September, ZsONAMACO Foto, Centro Banamex, Mexico City, Mexico
• 2016 September, Austria's International Art Fair, Vienna, Austria
• 2016 August, Sensitive Surface Exhibition, Malmö, Sweden
• 2016 August, Photo Collect Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Danmark
• 2016 June, f/stop Photography Festival, Leipzig, Germany
• 2016 May, London Art Fair, London, UK
• 2016 May, Tokyo Art Fair, Tokyo, Japan
• 2016 March, ART PARIS ART FAIR, Paris, France
• 2016 January-2016 February, LOIVE, matchbaco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

2017

• 2017 January–March, Beauty Without Beards, KWM artcenter, Beijing, China

• 2010: Third Terna Contemporary Art Award, Italy
• 2016: Outset|Unseen Exhibition Fund