Ren Hang exposed the free sexuality of a little-known China

Chinese poet and photographer Ren Hang (March 30, 1987 – February 24, 2017) began photographing his friends in 2007 to escape boredom during his Advertising degree, but ended up becoming a worldwide phenomenon in the fight for the liberation of sexuality.

Ren became known worldwide for exposing a China that was rarely published, almost never commented on and impossible for other countries to see, at least until then. Free sexuality explodes in strong, direct, yet playful, and intimate photos that he decided to take from 2007 onwards.

“I usually photograph my friends because strangers make me nervous,” he confessed in an interview. A self-taught photographer, his style was inspired by Japanese artist and filmmaker Shūji Terayama and also by Japanese contemporary photographer and artist Nobuyoshi Araki.

Even though he lived in a repressive China with Japanese artistic influences, he never considered his work inappropriate or questioning: “I don’t really see my work as taboo, because I don’t think too much about the cultural context, or the political context. I don’t intentionally push boundaries, I just do what I do.”

Ren suffered from depression and expressed his feelings in the series “My Depression” on his blog, recording the fear, anxiety and internal conflicts he experienced. He had several exhibitions around the world and died by suicide on February 24, 2017, in Beijing.

By Ezatamentchy