Worlds and Spacing – 世界与空间

Worlds and Spacing – 世界与空间 presents a selection of photographs from three bodies of work created by Chinese artist Maleonn (马良): Postman, 2008; Portrait of Mr World, 2019-2020; and Your Portraits, 2020. Though created at different junctures in time, these bodies of work speak to human issues made only more apparent with the onset of the global pandemic, even if Postman and Portrait of Mr World were not created with COVID-19 in mind.

Communication, alienation, and insulation are the core themes addressed within the exhibition. In spite of the fantastical settings Maleonn creates and photographs, each of his images are a salient reminder of the fundamental human need for earnest connection with one another.

Unfolding in expansive scale across the span of the Esplanade Tunnel, each photograph is an invitation to be immersed in other worlds that are a little different yet not too foreign from our own.

Maleonn (马良) (b. 1972, Shanghai, China) entered Shanghai Huashan Art School at the age of 12 before majoring in Graphic Design at the Fine Art College of Shanghai University. Following graduation, he entered the world of advertising, becoming a director for filmed commercials, and winning the golden award of the China International Advertising Festival twice.

In 2004, Maleonn embarked on a new career as an artist. Although working predominantly through the photographic medium, he also produced drawings and installations as well. His 2012 public art project, Studio Mobile, that involved the conversion of two minivans into roving photo studios that traversed China for 10 months, took free portraits for 1600 strangers across 35 cities. The project was a nation-wide sensation in China, establishing the artist as a household name.

Maleonn now lives and works in Shanghai, China.