Crazy Chinese Circus by Shanghai-based photographer Maleonn

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-10 02:10

- is talking Maleonn is a talented photographer from Shanghai who has gained popularity for his fabulous work. Looking at his photographs, replete with thoughtful and precise details, it is safe to say that the author put a lot of effort into their creation.

- says Maleonn

- First of all, tell us a little about yourself.

I was born and raised in China, I am 36 years old. At the age of 12, I began to take an interest in art, and graduated from art school when I was 23. As a teenager, I painted all the time, and there was no doubt that painting would become a major part of my career in the future. Eventually I became the art director of some commercial films, working mainly with the costumes and makeup of the actors. But in life everything is not as smooth as we would like. So I ended up having a difficult period when everything seemed very boring, when there was no creative expression due to the commercial framework - and all this made me very unhappy. So in 2004 I started my independent career. Of course, at first there were some difficulties, but to my great happiness, I managed to meet people who loved my work, supported and inspired.

- What influenced your decision when choosing the creative path of your career?

We can say that my family lived in art. My father was a theater director and my mother was an actress. I witnessed the family's deep affection for art. So this is natural for me, and there were no doubts when choosing a profession.

- How would you describe your style of work?

I would be more interested to know what people think about my work. I do not want to explain the ideas and intentions of my photographs due to bad previous experience where my notes were misinterpreted for a simplified explanation. Just as our world is diverse, so countless viewers from different parts of the globe have the opportunity to look at my work from different points of view. In fact, I've heard a lot of comments about my style, with which I agree to one degree or another, for example: very dramatic, like in a movie; more like an art picture; the sense of reality and at the same time the absurdity of photography creates a great contrast; very dark, strange ideas in great performance.

- What types of techniques do you use to create photographs?

I enjoy working with different types of techniques that have no rules. For example, you can use smoke or thin fishing line to create certain effects in your photo. My shootings always take a lot of time, most of which is spent, first of all, on preparation - creating the desired composition, the location of the equipment and many other details that you can notice on the finished work.

- What are you working on at the moment?

I built a stage in my studio and filled it with plants, including artificial trees. Then I waited for the living part of the plants to dry to create the atmosphere of an abandoned garden. After that, I made a huge window pane, like in a museum, and shot many different faces in it. The withered garden is the background of our life.

- What advice can you give to aspiring photographers?

8 years ago, before I started my career as a photographer, and my thoughts were only busy with commercial work, I happened to meet my girlfriend from college. She was older than me and already at that time was a fairly well-known photographer. We spent the whole evening talking about art. I remember her simple question: "What spiritual value is your work?" I was ashamed. I didn't have an answer to this question at the time. So, to young talents I can only say one thing: "Your work is your language. Otherwise, it is silence."