Maleonn
Born in 1972 in Shanghai, China, Maleonn, whose real name is Ma Liang- a young fictional character that had the power to transform reality at the will of his fantasies is known for his fable-like images that have earned him a cult following in the art scene. In his youth Maleonn, the son of a renowned Shanghai Opera director and a well-known actress, grew up surrounded by an “artificial” theatrical universe. The family’s fictional and romantic lives on stage were early on contrasted with a particularly drab external reality with the onset of the Cultural Revolution when his parents were sent to a re-education camp and the family displaced. Maleonn began his career as a film maker and art director before he began to focus on photography in 2004. My Circus was his first exploration into photography and incorporates a number of absurd objects, symbols and characters wildly dressed amidst urban settings. Using digital resources and manual re-colorization techniques Maleonn combines props, junk, and actors, with an assortment of hues, colors, and theatrical sets, to create imaginary worlds within dynamic metaphorical narratives.
