Maleonn was the quintessential diamond in the rough. Even while mid career in the commercial film industry, his success gave him little personal satisfaction. For years he was starved for self-expression, desperately grasping to escape the monotony of his job. In 2004 he finally threw his hands in the air. He bought a camera and paint and became one of China’s most renowned contemporary photographers.

Only such urgency to expel one’s emotions could cultivate the passion Maleonn channels into his work. Photography is his language for translating ideas and emotions that he cannot express in any other tangible form. The product is a mammoth body of work covering extensive conceptual ground: mostly contrived, his images convey a narrative that seems incomplete. In his theatrical sets, stuffed animals and balloons often overtake a room in massive quantity while characters engage in bizarre actions. There is a mass of information in each image, yet no clear answers. Maleonn explores his culture through these metaphors, leaving the whimsical characters to tell their own story. —Kirsten Incorvaia ... http://www.thecitrusreport.com/story/maleonn_1735

© Maleonn