Mo Yi Rewrites the Rules in 'Me in My Landscape'
A massive display of street style and unconventional beauty by a leading figure in Chinese contemporary photography.
The UCCA Center for Contemporary Art and Les Rencontres d’Arles present the first major museum survey of Chinese photographer Mo Yi in Beijing. Born in 1958 in Tibet, the artist captures alienation in urban life, often using his own body as an intervention. From the late 1980s to today, Me in My Landscape chronicles the rise of Mo Yi as one of the most important figures in Chinese contemporary photography.
The exhibition presents over 300 works, featuring images from his most notable series, self-portraits, previously unseen archival materials and a new site-specific installation. From the beating glow of Red Streets to the candid panoramas of I Am a Street Dog, the artist’s ever-evolving, experimental approach explores photography as a means of both art and social documentary.
Calling on his early career as a soccer star, Mo Yi moves fluidly with and within the image. Summoning waves of gesture and emotion, he captures the bustle of everyday life with an earnest accuracy. While his work often feels dislocated or detached, the artist uses cynicism in his favor, capturing a true, off-kilter reflection of humanity.
Together, the exhibition embodies a moment of reckoning. Departing from the rigid and technical traditions of documentary photography, this shift toward the raw and spontaneous left a profound impact on the arc of experimental art in China. Charting across several eras for Mo Yi, Me in My Landscape presents a pulsing journey to find art in unexpected places.
The exhibition is now on view at UCCA in Beijing through December 29.
UCCA Center for Contemporary Art
4 Jiuxianqiao Rd, Chaoyang,
Beijing, China, 100102
