YOUTH
Using film, Luo Yang shoots these atypical characters of Chinese society with due sensitivity, working on "documenting" a generation she meets daily, of whom she says it is her duty to preserve a photographic trace. This is a pioneering generation, more "sex, and rock’n’roll” than "K-pop", in contrast with the ultra sophisticated and sanitized image conveyed by the pop stars adored by young people in China today. With their tattoos, hair with different colors, and flamboyant looks, those in front of the camera - musicians, artists, bloggers, friends or strangers, sometimes met online, who often become close to the photographer - are very self-conscious of their appearance. Yet nothing is quite fit for purpose for Luo Yang. Behind every portrait, we feel the invisible and peculiar stories: young adults already mature beyond their childish appearance, and those who act like the children they still are. Boys who defy the social code with their disturbing fragility, girls who proudly display their androgyny, couples in love.
Girls
Luo Yang’s main project “Girls”, has revealed a part of contemporary China that is rarely taken note of in the West. Her portraits depict an emerging Chinese youth culture that defies imposed expectations and stereotypes: “Girls” are badass and self-aware with a supreme sense of cool, yet also insecure, vulnerable and torn.Underlying tensions and ambivalent emotions lend friction to Luo’s images and deny a conclusive reading. Above all, her work is a testament to her subject’s individuality. It explores themes of youth and femininity while challenging traditional beliefs about Chinese women. “Girls” thus also reflect a shifting mindset with regard to concepts of femininity and identity in modern China.
