Silesian shopwindow
Photo: Grzegorz Lizurek
03 March 2008
Invited guest: Shen Wei
Almost Naked
Growing up in Mainland China, I was brought up strictly and conservatively, any untraditional and unconventional ideas of life-style can sometimes lead to misconceptions. When I first saw the film Basic Instinct as a teenage sneacking into an underground cinema in Shanghai, I was not so much shocked by the sex and violence in the film. Instead I was shocked by the realization of how other people, including myself, are so numbed about the ideas of intimacy, sexuality, and love. Since I moved to the United States, my needs for self-expression has grown. However, my curiosity about how others deal with their identity in what is a fairly open society like America has increased. As a result I started to photograph people and life in America.
The goal of my projects are to raise the question about human nature, about emotions, feelings, desire, instinct and identity, to reveal things that you can feel it, that are unexplainable but yet still solid. I am fascinated with exploring the complexity of emotional nakedness and psychological connection/disconnection, as it is often expressed not specifically but explicitly. Certainly my photography is my perspectives and how I look at people and life in America. But most importantly, I want viewers of my work to make their own discoveries and judgments of my photographs. / Shen Wei
Born and raised in Shanghai, China. Shen Wei is a fine art photographer currently based in New York City. Shen's photographs have been widely exhibited, including Griffin Museum of Photography, Center on Contemporary Art (Seattle), Lincoln Center Avery Fisher Hall, ZONE: Chelsea Center for the Arts (NYC) and Saatchi Gallery at the Zoo Art Fair 2007 (London). His photographs have been featured in various publications such as American Photo, Chinese Photography, PDN, Photographer's Forum and La Tempestad.
Shen is named as one of the fifteen "new generation of photo pioneers" by American Photo magazine in 2007.
Shen Wei holds an MFA in Photography, Video and Related Media from School of Visual Arts (NYC), a BFA in Photography from Minneapolis College of Art and Design and a BA in Decorative Arts and Design from Shanghai Light Industry College.
You should definitely visit Shen Wei´s site to find out more about his excellent work. And check out his blog.
All pictures @ Shen Wei
invited by ulf fågelhammar
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