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Wang Hanlin

Animal Capital

Dog Participating in a Beauty Pageant, Shanghai, 2020 ©Wang Hanlin
Dog Participating in a Beauty Pageant, Shanghai, 2020 ©Wang Hanlin

At the start of 2025, Fotografiska Shanghai is proud to launch our Local Emerging Artists Project. Through the solo exhibition Animal Capital by local artist Wang Hanlin, we aim to support local artists with innovative and distinctive artistic expressions, foster the diverse development and exchange of local art, and provide our audience with more fresh and profound artistic experiences.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

As an extension of the global exhibition The Pet Show opened at Fotografiska Shanghai in December 2024, Animal Capital uses "pets" as a starting point to examine humanity. The exhibition aims to explore the structure of human society through the observation of pets.

A Little Girl, Green Iguana, and Toys, Shanghai, 2020 ©Wang Hanlin
A Little Girl, Green Iguana, and Toys, Shanghai, 2020 ©Wang Hanlin

Pets act as a mirror to humanity, reflecting our attitudes and thoughts. When we examine the interactions between humans and pets from an objective standpoint, these reflections become more evident. Through pets, we can discern the "issues" of humans, while also recognizing traces of pets within human behavior.

Colorful Dog Leashes, Shanghai, 2020 ©Wang Hanlin
Colorful Dog Leashes, Shanghai, 2020 ©Wang Hanlin

As a contemporary artist focused on the exploration of human emotions and the documentation of the human psyche, Wang Hanlin aims to investigate human ideologies through the study of imagery. In this exhibition, he expands the concept of "pets" to encompass not only living beings but also inanimate objects, while reflecting the evolving contexts of different historical periods. Over the past five years, the artist has observed and analyzed the playful interactions between humans and pets within family dynamics, among friends, and in social news. His work delves into how, beneath seemingly rational and civilized systems, pets have become outlets for various unconventional events or behaviors within human society.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Portrait - Wang Hanlin
Portrait - Wang Hanlin

Hanlin Wang is a visual artist currently living and working in Shanghai. He holds a Master’s degree in Photography from the Central Academy of Fine Arts. His work consistently centers on the documentation of human spirituality, spanning from personal emotions to collective experiences. He reflects on changes in the surrounding environment and the passing of personal history, using imagery as his primary means of expression. In recent years, he has focused on the relationship between media and images, attempting to explore human ideology through image-based research, while questioning the cognitive processes behind image production.He has been nominated for the C/O Berlin Talent Award (2024), the Leica Oskar Barnack Award (2022), and the 8th Hou Dengke Documentary Photography Award (2022). He has received accolades such as Best Domestic Photographer at the Xishuangbanna International Image Festival (2021), the 7th China Photography Annual Ranking (2020), the TOP20 Chinese Contemporary Photography Emerging Talent Award (2019), and the first 1839 Photography Award Grand Prize (2019). His work was also selected for the Sony World Photography Awards (2018) and the 10th Three Shadows Photography Award (2018).His works and articles are commonly seen in Chinese photography, Chinese photographer, Digital photography, National Geographic Chinese version, and other publications. The album "Atlas of contemporary Chinese photography / Wang Hanlin" has been published.