For his first solo exhibition outside a gallery, in collaboration with André Saraiva and Hôtels Amour, Anna Mistal proposes an in-situ project, with 30 shots made by Lin at the beginning of October 2018 in the vibrant and arty universe of the Grand Amour Hotel, located in a pre-Haussmann building in the 10th district of Paris.
A leading figure in emerging Chinese photography, Lin Zhipeng is a true “millennial” artist, adulated on the internet and social networks. In 2003, he created the North Latitude 23 blog, which generates millions of views and followers. He posts daily short texts, accompanied by photographs taken near his school, in the Old Guangzhou Airport district, describing the life of his friends, their games, their parties, their quirky outfits, their personalities and sexual behavior. Sometimes putting himself on stage, his sensitivity, the unusual nature of his subjects and the strong sexual dimension of his images attract more and more followers.
In a generation greedy for images, the Internet is shaking up the codes of traditional media and offering the opportunity to question and explore the taboos of nudity, gender, homosexuality, fetishism and desire, arousing both fascination and scandal. The success of his blog allows him gradually to organize exhibitions and publish his own catalogs.
Major in marketing and advertising studies in the Philippines, passionate about fashion, art and design and creative at heart, Anna Mistal moved to New York in the late 90s. She became a freelance assistant stylist, working on the sets of Avedon, Elgort and Seliger. She then collaborated to fashion editorials and TV campaigns with acclaimed directors while pursuing her studies at Parson School in Interior Design.
With 20 years of experience in fashion, design and contemporary art, Mistal is now devoting her keen eye and adventurous spirit to producing alternative exhibitions, outside traditional art galleries, in order to share the work of her favorites designers, photographers and artists, emerging or installed. New Yorker of adoption, energetic and constantly inspired, she hates stereotypes and pushes the limits of the possible by surrounding herself with creative people from all over the world, to create singular and exciting projects.
No.223@GrandAmour, a “threesome” between Lin Zhipeng, Anna Mistal and André Saraiva.
In 2017, Anna Mistal discovered Lin’s work on Instagram. She was enthusiastic about the sensuality, sexuality, nudity and emancipation that his images revealed.
Her own instagram @masterprovocateur, had acquired a certain notoriety because of its illegal content: naked selfies she posted to the attention of a French lover, which earned her a suspension in 2016. This long distance relationship now over has allowed her to explore her femininity, her sensuality and her sexuality, themes that she continues to explore through her new account: @annamistal #masterprovocateur.
Instagram also allows her to spot different artists around the world, including Lin, she started to follow. After a while, she ended up sending him a message. The result is a correspondence and friendship that inspired her to design an exhibition.
Anna Mistal’s first encounter with the artist André Saraiva took place through a portfolio of the Hôtel Amour directed by The Selby, a New York hipster photographer famous for his shots of interiors. The photo of an Asian nude in bed with MR.A, the Rocking Machine, Herman Makkink’s penis-shaped sculpture, and a whole collection of naughty art objects, are inspiring details for Mistal, who decided to stay there during her trips to Paris. It is in this spirit that she presented Lin’s work to André Saraiva, convinced that the Grand Amour Hotel was the ideal setting for hosting this erotic, sulphurous and playful proposal, which celebrates freedom and love.
Invigorating and touching, never dramatic, Lin’s photography is pure emotion. Illuminated by a penetrating flash, the nakedness of his subjects reveals both their emancipation and their vulnerability. Lin never plans his sessions, leaving room for spontaneity and improvisation. For his shoot at Grand Amour, he gathered his favorite objects: plants, fresh fruits and vegetables, flowery fabrics, live birds and unusual accessories, weaving a great complicity with his models, which he photographed naked in the intimacy of the rooms with colorful and vibrant decors.
The result is 30 captivating and poetic images, like semi-private moments spent in the company of the hosts of a timeless place full of fantasy.
Lin Zhipeng, No.223 @GrandAmour
Exhibition from 9 to 22 November
Grand Amour Hotel
18, rue de la Fidélité
75010 Paris
