The world of photography lost one of its most influential and controversial voices of today. Ren Hang, a renowned and often censored Chinese photographer whose work has been displayed around the world, died this week. He was 29 years old.
‘Ren is a poet and photographer‘ the Klein Sun Gallery wrote, describing Ren in a release for a solo show in May of 2016. ‘Splicing imagery of urban and rural environments as a metaphor for the increasingly citified millennials of today, he arranges the naked limbs of his friends in his hide-and-seek photographs.‘
Ren’s death was confirmed last night by a representative of the gallery, although the details are still shrouded in mystery. The young photographer chronicled his struggle with depression on his website, and his last post on the Chinese social media site Weibo has led many to speculate that Ren took his own life.