Photographer No 223 stages solo in Beijing
By: By Yang Xiaoyu
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Photographer No 223 stages solo in Beijing
No 223, Destructive Fluidity , 2023. [Photo/Courtesy of the artist]
Viewing the photos by artist Lin Zhipeng, all shot on film and characterized by bold, saturated colors and an atmospheric and poetic quality, is somewhat akin to listening to a fine dream pop album. Both may cause the audience to reminisce about their youthful days, which pulsated with cheer, curiosity, confusion, melancholy, ennui and recklessness.
The artist's one-man show, Vision Infra-mince , is set to open tomorrow at the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre in Beijing, soon after its Xiamen space in East China's Fujian province wrapped up his exhibition Under the Sunlight, There is no True Intimacy last month.
Critically acclaimed for capturing the zeitgeist of the post-80s and 90s generation of non-mainstream Chinese youth, the avant-garde photographer, who also goes by the moniker No 223 (a nod to director Wong Kar Wai's Chungking Express ), has been focusing his lens on close friends and acquaintances.
"No 223's photography often evokes imagery of youthful collectives or coming-of-age scenes, yet at its core is a persistent commitment to 'recording everyday landscapes' and 'gazing at relationships', sustained over more than two decades," commented renowned photographers RongRong & inri, co-founders of the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre.
"Through recurring depictions of bodies, gazes, personal objects, and gestures from daily life, his photographs quietly—yet intensely—capture the physical and emotional nuances of human relationships," they added.
No 223, Muzi , 2023. [Photo/Courtesy of the artist]
Born in 1979 in Shantou, Guangdong province, South China, Lin graduated from the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies with a degree in financial English. In 2003, while working as a magazine editor, he began sharing photographs and accompanying texts on his blog. His distinctive style quickly attracted millions of views, earning him both widespread online recognition and, eventually, international acclaim.
The year 2025 marks a vibrant and productive period for the Beijing-based artist as he celebrates two decades of photographic work. Eight solo exhibitions have been and are being held worldwide in his honor, including a mid-career retrospective at Guangzhou's Kui Yuan Gallery, shows in Milan and at Paris Photo in November, and two solo exhibitions at the Three Shadows.
RongRong & inri noted that Lin's creative practice resonates with the lineage of Shi-Shashin, or "I-Photography", a genre of Japanese photography characterized by its intensely personal and subjective perspective, focusing on the photographer's own life and inner world rather than public subjects. Photographers such as Masahisa Fukase, Nobuyoshi Araki, and Daido Moriyama are known for their direct and revealing expressions of inner emotions, sexuality, and familial themes.
They also praised Lin's tremendous initiative and commitment to growing his artistic practice.
Unlike those Japanese photographers who thrived in part thanks to various programs in Japan aimed at discovering and nurturing emerging artists and the country's distinctive culture of photo magazines and photobooks, No 223, by using fashion magazines, personal blogs, and zines as autonomous tools, developed his practice entirely through self-initiated effort, they remarked.
Vision Infra-mince runs until Oct 19.
From 10 am-6 pm, closed on Mondays. Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, 155 A Caochangdi, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-6432-2663
No 223, French Lightness , 2023. [Photo/Courtesy of the artist]
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No 223, Table and Glasses , 2017. [Photo/Courtesy of the artist]
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No 223, Suspense of Flower Color , 2021. [Photo/Courtesy of the artist]
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No 223, Grand Amour-White Dove, 2018. [Photo/Courtesy of the artist]
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No 223, Spring Awakening#10, 2023. [Photo/Courtesy of the artist]
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No 223, Spring Awakening#2, 2023 . [Photo/Courtesy of the artist]
RED BOX RULES: AN IMPORTANT REMINDER
From time-to-time, I should remind all members of NT, etc., that when posting photos, artwork, etc., it's important, when posting, that you own, and/or legally represent the licensing, copyright, etc., of what you post, and TO PROTECT YOUR WORK, TO INCLUDE YOUR COPYRIGHT SYMBOL/INFORMATION; and/or, WHEN POSTING COPYRIGHTED PROPERTY BELONGING TO PARTIES OTHER THAN YOURSELF, TO …
• BE SURE YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO POST, TRANSMIT, etc, SUCH PROPERTY, and,
• IF/WHEN SUCH PERMISSION HAS BEEN GRANTED, TO PROPERLY AND CLEARLY ATTRIBUTE THE COPYRIGHTS TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNER(S).
VERY IMPORTANT … IN THE FUTURE, I WILL REMEMBER TO POST THIS CAVEAT REGULARLY.
Thanks, A. MAC
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"And now for something completely different." No, I am not Monty Python, but these photos are something interesting to ponder.
How the hell is this still on the Front (Home) Page? It isn't about politics, or a goodbye story, it's about art and culture.
I like this artist's work. "Spring Awakening #2" is especially beautiful.
I quite liked a few of them - VERY unusual photos. I like the foot stepping on the fruit, the portrait of a nude woman, and I'm fascinated by the one of the two glasses on the edge of the table - it arouses a kind of tension in viewing it, wondering if they're going to fall off.