Maleonn - maleonn.com
“I have a strong desire to ‘manipulate’ the objects, in an attempt to have them affected by me, and in turn become a part of the framework I have designed for my photos. They serve as a narrative medium for me and a symbolic code for my work.” (Maleonn, Interview, January 2006)

“My photography…is just like life: unpredictable and full of hints, but no answers…We [younger-generation artists such as Maleonn] are trying to understand the deeper meaning of our culture.” (Maleonn, Interview, “City of Dreams” in CHINA RISES series, CBC Television)

In May 2006, Chinese photographic artist Maleonn (Ma Liang) had his first solo show outside Asia, exhibiting with Craig Scott Gallery for the 10th annual CONTACT Photography Festival in Toronto, North America’s largest such event. His show, “Transfigurations”, consisted of approximately 30 works from four series created between 2004 and 2006. The series in the show involved complementary narratives about the evolution of Chinese identity where multiple contemporary influences (from various globalizations to China’s frenetic capitalism) intersect with deep historical currents (from traditional culture to the Mao period). Maleonn’s photography — alternately playful and edged with the macabre — juxtaposes, with singular artistic power, widespread feelings of dislocation and unease at the pace of change in today’s China, on the one hand, and the welcoming of new horizons of self-expression and cultural vitality, on the other.

Excerpt from craigscottgallery.com