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InspirationPhotography

Chicken Are Not Naked: Stefanie Schweiger captures impromptu moments of artists' lives

Between January 2014 and 2016, Stefanie Schweiger accompanied and photographed nine Chinese artists for her project, Chicken Are Not Naked. During the two-year period, the German photographer captured a variety of artists' work across the fields of performance art, installation art, visual art, music, dance, theatre, and creative writing.

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All images courtesy of the artist. Via Creative Boom submission.

All images courtesy of the artist. Via Creative Boom submission.

The collection of images, including subjects Li Binyuan, Tong Kunniao, Bian Yuan, Dong Dong, Gao Ping, Liu Donghong, Boer, Zhai Yongming, and Gao Yanjinzi, seeks to offer viewers a "nuanced perspective" on the Chinese contemporary art scene.

In an upcoming exhibition, Hong Kong's ZZHK Gallery will present the photographs of Schweiger, alongside anecdotes relating to her journey with the artists, visually mapping out the moments and contexts by combining clippings, texts and printed materials.

Schweiger was born in Gross-Gerau, Germany in 1979. She studied photography under Roger Melis and graduated in 2002 in Berlin. Her work has been published in various magazines in Europe and Asia.

Since moving to China in 2012, Schweiger has experienced mixed and ambivalent feelings toward cultural differences in the restricted political atmosphere.

Stefanie Schweiger, Chicken Are Not Naked runs from 20 April – 26 May 2018. Discover more at www.zzhkgallery.com.

Cream-coloured tour bus parked on a street with Chinese characters on its side, trees and apartment buildings visible in the background
Shirtless young man with brick balanced on his head, smoking cigarette with eyes closed on rural dirt road lined with greenery and power lines
Inside a green tent, red trainers and scattered beer bottles and cans litter artificial grass alongside a wooden log and discarded rubbish.
Black and white photograph of a person tilting their head back with hand raised to their face, wearing a white cap and black shirt with graphic design
Fantastical painting of a creature with wide blue eyes, bared teeth and ornate gold horns, with a gold chandelier hanging above its head
Shirtless man with arm tattoos standing by lift doors in corridor, watched by person in cap and patterned shirt standing by adjacent lift
Aerial view of a dancer lying on a dark surface, draped in flowing blue fabric that spreads outward in an organic shape
Person in dark clothing gazes out of a large window at a misty landscape, with art materials and a glass on the table beside them
Young person lying on grass wearing a lime green shirt and maroon shorts with yellow football boots, with another player visible in the background
Black and white portrait of a person in profile resting against an upholstered surface, from Stefanie Schweiger's series documenting Chinese contemporary artists
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