A Cultural Revolution

Yang Fudong (born 1971) is a leading light of the Shanghai art scene, noted as both a filmmaker and a photographer. His photographs depict a youthful elite adrift in a contemporary urban environment, while his films more often portray a mythic historical time reminiscent of early-20th-century Shanghai. The films hint at plot development but offer no coherent narrative, and the combination conjures a dreamlike world. Yang’s masterful use of color, lighting, and composition owes a debt to his education as a painter at the China Academy of Fine Arts, in Hangzhou.