Wang Qingsong

Wang Qingsong (b.1966), the enfant terrible of contemporary Chinese art photography, stages grand, kitschy tableaux that call to mind traditional Chinese scrolls, allegorical Renaissance paintings, Socialist public sculptures and more. Sexy, ironic and always over-the-top, the photographs critique China's new consumer culture, its growing materialism and wastefulness, while simultaneously revelling in its newfound decadence. Many of Qingsong's best works are amusing self-portraits, in which the artist positions himself in such a way as to force the viewer to question the direction in which our collective culture is turning.