At first glance, Sheng Sheng may seem to be your average Shanghai elementary schooler. But the nine-year-old girl actually has a second identity as a celebrity film photographer — and she always shoots on analog film. Since she was in kindergarten, she’s been wandering around Wukang Road and Anfu Road in Shanghai’s former French Concession, one of the trendiest areas in the city. She conducted a street photography project on these streets, using a film camera from her photographer father.
Her adventure into celebrity photography started when she bumped into singer and actress Ouyang Nana when she was out taking pictures. Impressed by Sheng Sheng’s outstanding work, Ouyang got in touch with her later on, asking for assistance in documenting a concert. From there, Sheng Sheng started getting to know more celebrities in the film and TV world, snapping shots of actors like Hu Ge, Leo Wu, Zhou Xun, and Tony Leung Chiu-wai.
Chinese netizens particularly appreciate how Sheng Sheng’s photos seems to capture a more authentic side of their favorite stars. Celebrities appear more genuine and at ease in her images, apparently devoid of any artificiality when seen through the soft color tones and gentle lighting of a child’s perspective.
A promo photo taken by Sheng Sheng for the film All Ears (2023).
On the flip side, there are controversies surrounding Sheng Sheng’s photography skills and whether they align with the level of fame she has attained. As with other child influencers in China, there are questions about the role her parents play in in her online presence. Her father Zou Ruipeng (known as J神) is a skilled, somewhat known film photographer, and maintains social media accounts for both Sheng Sheng and her sister Xixi.
However, Sheng Sheng’s supporters maintain that she has her own unique perspective and approach as a child, and has invested significant time and effort in establishing connections and earning the trust of her models. Reflecting on her earlier street photography project, she would occasionally feel disheartened when facing rejection, but she always managed to bounce back with renewed enthusiasm and continue her mission.
Together with her father, Sheng Sheng is continuing to reach out to more celebrities and produce stylish photographs. When asked about her future plans, Sheng Sheng consistently expresses hopeful aspirations for further progress on her photographic journey.
Banner photo of Sheng Sheng with Tony Leung Chiu-wai via her Xiaohongshu.
Tidawhitney Lek’s paintings seem to blur different times and places, reality and fantasy. Likewise, her color palettes mix vivid, sun-kissed tones and more steely, subdued hues. These contrasts are all part of the complex fusion of influences and narrative threads that have fed into the 32-year-old Cambodian-American artist’s practice, shaped in equal parts by often-unspoken family history and her own experiences growing up in poverty in Long Beach.
Lek was passionate about art from a young age, but didn’t think she would be able to follow it as a career path. But as she studied at Cal State Long Beach in the early 2010s, thinking that she would become a math teacher, a student trip to New York changed her mind. Visits to artist studios in the cultural hub allowed her to experience the world of contemporary art in a way she hadn’t in her hometown. Back in California, Lek dived into art, but predominantly worked in abstraction. Her current figurative style would slowly emerge after she graduated in 2017 and honed her skills working in the studios of other Los Angeles painters.
Today, her paintings combine multiple spaces and temporalities, surreally juxtaposing realistically depicted people and objects. Visibly American settings are sometimes accompanied by lush vegetation that recalls Southeast Asia, and the people in her paintings often don traditional Cambodian garments like the sampot and sarong. Lek builds these homely-yet-mysterious scenes, often located in domestic settings, out of intricate brushwork in oil, acrylic, watercolor, and more unexpected materials like glitter. One reoccurring motif in her practice is disembodied hands, which reach out from behind doors or out of frying pans. It’s left ambiguous whether the hands are nefarious or benign, but they do seem to be creating connections, whether transmitting care or painful family memories. As the painter explains, “The hands really respond in a very mischievous way. They creep out in the corners and they lurk. But at the same time they’re also doing motherly things.”
Relatives, 2022. Courtesy Tidawhitney Lek.
Relatives, from 2022, provides a snapshot of Lek’s recent work: Just off the center of the canvas a woman stands facing out from what appears to be the gate of a house, her head in one of her hands. Below some steps, another woman gazes up at her, apparently grinning. Grilles, fences, and the luscious sunset in the background seem to scream LA, but it’s harder to place the greenery that pops up around every corner as Californian or otherwise. Adding to the piece’s sense of the uncanny, the angles between different sections appear ever-so-slightly off, space feeling somehow flattened. And not least of all, two disembodied hands — this time green — emerge from underneath a potlid. It’s a scene that’s full of domestic familiarity, yet also imbued with melancholy and strangeness.
Shown in the Hammer Museum’s most recent biennial, “Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living,” Refuge (2023) more explicitly references Lek’s parents’ experiences as refugees who fled Cambodia for the United States. Based on a wartime experience of her father — something that was generally not discussed in Lek’s household when she was a child — the painting layers a scene of bombing in Cambodia onto closet doors in an apartment.
Refuge, 2023. Courtesy Tidawhitney Lek.
In a way, the piece is emblematic of Lek’s art as a whole. Visually and conceptually it is rooted in both her ancestral homeland and her more immediate home of Long Beach, while its creation came out of conversations with her father about the past. By fostering fresh dialogue with her family and community, Lek’s work doesn’t only record her exploration of her identity as a Cambodian American, but also actively takes her further along a journey of self-discovery.
Banner image courtesy Tidawhitney Lek.
For more articles from the “Stories on Canvas” series, click here.
As electric cars are starting to become mainstream, some countries are already racing towards launching “flying cars” into the air. In China’s case, it aims to have its Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) infrastructure ready by 2028, in order to make air transportation more accessible and versatile. One of the first aircraft manufacturers to tap into this “low-altitude economy” will be Chengdu’s Aerofugia, which received airworthiness approval for its AE200 X01 plane earlier this year.
The AE200 X01 is a manned eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) demonstrator aircraft, and while it resembles a hybrid between a small private jet and a helicopter, it is powered by eight propellers — four of which can tilt for forward motion. This machine has a wingspan of 14.5 meters, a length of 9 meters and a height of 4.6 meters, so it easily dwarfed the other exhibits at BEYOND Expo 2024. It can be configured with seats for the pilot and up to four passengers, or you can just keep the pilot’s seat to maximize cargo space.
According to Aerofugia CEO and Chief Scientist, Dr. Burt Guo, the AE200 will make low-altitude flights relatively affordable — around half or even just 30% of what you’d pay for a helicopter ride. As an example, Aerofugia’s strategic partner, CITIC Helicopter, recently opened a Shenzhen-to-Zhuhai route (around 80 km) which takes 15 to 20 minutes. This costs 999 RMB which, by Guo’s standard, is pricey, and he believes that an air taxi service powered by an AE200 may bring this down to as low as 300 RMB.
Guo explained that this is possible because his eVTOL aircraft shares as much as 18% of the supply chain with an electric car, and as much as 13% with conventional helicopters. The very first batch of mass-produced AE200 aircrafts will cost around 3 million USD per unit, but depending on how the electric vehicle supply chain evolves, Guo believes he may be able to reduce the cost down to just 1 million USD, which will apparently be a sweet spot for low-altitude flight operators.
What’s more, since Aerofugia is a subsidiary of electric car giant, Geely, it’s able to leverage battery tech from another division, Zeekr. The AE200 has a flight range of 200 to 300 km on a single charge, and using Zeekr’s 800V architecture, the aircraft’s battery can reach an 80% charge in merely 11.5 minutes — plenty of time for a toilet break, said Guo.
In addition to cost advantages, the AE200 is also quieter than a helicopter, which is good news to both the passengers and the public down below. The exec added that his aircraft is safer as well, thanks to the built-in redundancies.
While local competitor EHang is taking the autonomous aerial vehicle approach, Aerofugia’s first electric aircraft that will need to be operated by a human pilot. That said, the AE200 is designed with SVO1 (simplified vehicle operations level 1) in mind, meaning that it’ll be very straightforward for existing fixed-wing or helicopter pilots. In other words, existing aviation training and regulations for fixed-wing and helicopter pilots would suffice for the AE200 at launch.
Guo added that with an SVO2 design, potential pilots will just need to take two weeks of training. There will also be a SVO3 version, which literally anyone will be able to operate, though the presence of a safety officer may be required. Aerofugia is already working with the Civil Aviation Flight University of China on coming up with a training course and licensing requirements for future end users.
Unsurprisingly, Aerofugia sees China as its biggest individual market, but it also has its eyes set on the Middle East as well as other Belt and Road countries. Until then, the startup will have to make a strong case in its home country first, but it probably won’t be long before more of these futuristic flying cars take off.
Banner image: Dr. Burt Guo in front of the AE200 X01. All images by Richard Lai.
If you’ve read much RADII music coverage, you may have noticed we’re big fans of China’s post-everything, permanently-online club music. And while there’s plenty of variety to the music on offer this month — regional rap, psych rock, slick indie pop, and more — one interesting current to observe this time around is the emergence of guitar music solo projects that are as Internet-native, deterritorialized, and eclectic as anything China’s electronic producers are cooking up. Changsha’s PostModernHippie and Shenzhen/Hong Kong’s thetearsofaether are rooted in the emo scene, but bring different styles and even languages to the table in a way that feels more like the product of some serious online research than interactions with an IRL community. Their intense, idiosyncratic music may not be for everyone, but it will be interesting to see if they can directly connect with fans of esoteric indie subgenres overseas, and if more musicians in China start working in a similar way — Editor.
God of Henan Rap 河南说唱之神 – Factory 工厂
This is blue-collar emo rap that cuts deep. You may not be a fan of the rap stylings of Henan rapper Zhang Fangzhao, aka God of Henan Rap, but there’s no denying its potent message. “I don’t love this place. I was just born here.” Set against the backdrop of rural China (Jiaozuo in central Henan, a major coal-producer) and the communities built around factories, it tackles many young people’s desperate pleas to escape the lower classes and avoid following the footsteps left by their families. Offering much-welcomed relief from the glossier, more vapid rappers that currently crowd the Chinese scene, it’s clear The God of Henan Rap — who debuted this song on iQiyi’s The Rap of China 2024 talent show — has struck a chord.
Backspace 退格 – Outside of Change 变化之外
Known for their intrepid psych-laced indie rock, Backspace return with their third full-length album, Outside of Change, which finds the band further expanding their sound whilst they give credence to the changes that have occured within themselves and in the world around them. Allowing their krautrock stylings to take flight as synthesizers waltz amongst one another, and giving singer Zheng Dong free range, their groove-filled melodies have a way of enrapturing your senses. The album may get lost in the weeds at times, but that’s just part of the primal pleasures found in the bedrock of Backspace’s sound as they beckon listeners to throw off the “soles of gravity” on the dance floor.
Howie Lee – At The Drolma Wesel-Ling Monastery
One of the electronic scene’s most renowned producers, Beijing-based artist Howie Lee has always had a knack for fusing traditional Asian sounds into his left-field club sensibilities, from the graceful Birdy Island to the more futuristic Tiān Dì Bù Rén. but never has it been done as immaculately or harmoniously as on his latest. Recorded over two weeks at Drolma Wesel-Ling Monastery in the mountains of northeastern Tibet, where the producer had access to chant recordings from the archive of monastery founder Tuga Rinpoche’s studio, it’s a grand, gripping, and enlightening journey, one that finds serendipitous nirvana at the intersection between Buddhist mantras and contemporary club music.
PostModernHippie – One life dominated by the Past 過去主義生活
Drawing on influences sourced from all corners of the internet and its magnitude of niche music circles, then crystallized into pure uncut post-emo music, PostModernHippie — a one-person project based out of Changsha — is a force to be reckoned with. A combustible swirl of breakcore, Midwest emo, screaming, chiptune, shoegaze, bossa nova, Japanese virtual singers, and then some, his glitch-filled wonders are quite literally busting at the seams technically and emotionally. An eclectic music and sound collage that’s unconventional in its framework yet emotionally affecting on an almost instinctual level, PostModernHippie might just be one of emo’s most fascinating offshoots.
一天世界 eitisga – 沙丘脉搏 Dune Pulse
Beijing instrumental groove stirrers eitisga — made up of an electric group of artists working in various other fields (a director, a photographer, a beamaker) — join the ranks of acts like Sleeping Dogs, Pu Poo Platter, and others finding refuge in the vast sonic worlds found across the globe. Taking inspiration from both “desert and urban life,” eitisga’s special touch lies in their ability to turn their auditory landscapes into a narrative, injecting their melodies and rhythm with a deft cinematic fervor that’s above all else fun.
Mimik Banka 表情银行 – Seahorse Forest 海马森林
Mimik Banka has never been bound by style but the long-standing Beijing band seems to have only become more emboldened as they’ve grown, breaking free of whatever constraints have held them back before. Which makes their latest LP Seahorse Forest feel particularly significant. Essentially a retrospective, the release finds the indie act revisiting some of their former tracks and painting them in a new light. And while the band’s ability to embrace a more orchestral and cerebral sound is ever-present, it’s the chamber pop aesthetic that breathes new life into their music here.
Nature Taste 天然味道 – 少女终末旅行
Offering up wistful dissonance that’s achingly romantic and raw, Nature Taste, the latest bedroom project from Shenzhen imprint Small Animals, find solace in the simmering afterglow of watershed summer vacation. Inspired by acts whose embers still burn long after their demise (they namecheck Pasteboard, Yuck, Supercar, and Shenzhen’s own AttaGirl), this EP captures the highly-saturated emotions of being caught in a never-ending moment. Nostalgic, melancholic, and made with rugged lo-fi affection, the Guangzhou band are a fresh new addition to China’s shoegaze and dream pop scene.
Life Awaits – Butterflies
Beijing melodic hardcore band Life Awaits — known for delivering one sonic catharsis after another via earnest, gut-wrenching vocals, guitar-darting breakdowns, and tranquil, synth-laden waves of ambience — return with a new music video for their single “Butterflies.” The video connects the anatomy of butterflies and humans, and explores the perverse ways in which we try to shape those around us. It’s that latter idea that leads the video into Silence of the Lambs territory — think darkened laboratories, dreamlike visions of horror, and nefarious surgeries being conducted.
thetearsofaether – Tell me the Story before we Sleep
A side project of Shenzhen/Hong Kong musician C0LDWINE (who sings English, Cantonese and Japanese here) thetearsofaether breathes new life into the emogaze genre with Tell me the Story before we Sleep, released with trailblazing Guangzhou DIY label Qiii Snacks Records. Part of a new wave of young indie acts who spill forth their raw emotions via sonic catharsis, there’s a violent, unruly and chaotic veneer to the emo and shoegaze stylings of thetearsofaether, one that feels desperate, dangerous, and visceral. It cuts deep.
Schoolgirl Byebye – Lunch Poem
Nanjing band Schoolgirl Byebye’s knack for crafting tight indie pop songs that buzz with sun-baked jangly city pop allure has made them staples of the scene for years. And while they’ve grown almost too comfortable with their unbuttoned brand of lo-fi pop, their latest EP, Lunch Poem, is a great reminder of the band’s deft melodic craft. Inspired by their recent travels across America, as well as Frank O’Hara’s 1964 poetry collection with a similar title, it finds the romantics leaning into their toy bag of moody synths and yearning lyricism to woozy effect.
On May 12th, Shanghai played host to a unique event focused on promoting inclusivity and accessibility in nightlife. Organized under the banner of BassBath, the party welcomed the deaf community to the techno club Heim. Initiated by vis and Jia (胖丁) from the innovative curatorial collective Transparent Afternoon (透明的下午), BassBath is now a collaboration with Alice Hu (胡晓姝) and Eva Lou (一娃). The diverse organizational team, including both hearing and deaf members, crafted a vibrant and accessible clubbing experience to connect deaf and hearing individuals in a public, light-hearted manner.
A looped video tutorial on ordering drinks through sign language. Photo by Mia Fan.
The evening commenced with a lively ice-breaking session at 7:00 PM, providing the opportunity for deaf and hearing attendees to interact with one another. At 7:30 pm Alice Hu, a deaf artist and advocate, engaged participants in a specially designed interactive game that fostered non-verbal interaction.
Following Alice’s game, Xumin (徐珉), a celebrated deaf rapper, gave a sign language rap performance and taught the crowd some basic sign language. A professional sign language interpreter was on site to facilitate seamless communication between deaf and hearing participants throughout the night.
Deaf clubbing is a relatively new concept. Since 2020, there has been an increase in deaf community-friendly music festivals and DJ workshops. The Deaf Rave Festival 2021, which Xumin also participated in, brought together deaf artists from diverse backgrounds to conduct a live stream during a Covid-19 lockdown, attracting more than 15,000 views.
As one of China’s pioneering deaf clubbing experiences, BassBath continues to prioritize visuals to help build an inclusive environment. Despite how loud sound waves can pose a challenge for communication, clubbing becomes a unique space for togetherness. Transparent Afternoon’s founders envision BassBath as a recurring series, with plans underway for future events at various venues. In the meantime, members of the deaf and hearing communities who connected at Heim are already forging friendships and sharing updates on other inclusive events in Shanghai through a BassBath group chat.
Dedicated to showcasing Asian and AAPI artists and culture, MetaMoon Music Festival will be back in New York this fall for a two-day event headlined by Henry Lau and Eric Nam, with support from Emei and SUNKIS.
Performers will take to the stage at the Brooklyn Paramount on September 28. However, the show will be preceded on September 27 by “The Summit: Rise of Asian Artists and their Global Fandom,” a conference organized in collaboration with the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment at Long Island University. Continuing on from a previous conference held last year, “The Summit” will include panel discussions and masterclasses by industry professionals, aiming to foster dialogue on Asian representation in the music industry and provide networking opportunities for students, encouraging the next generation of talent.
Tressa Cunningham, Dean of Roc Nation, views the MetaMoon Festival as a valuable opportunity for music students to “develop a well-rounded perspective of and appreciation for the global music industry.”
For Henry Lau (who RADII caught up with a few years ago) the MetaMoon Music Festival holds special significance as it marks his U.S. solo debut, providing many of his American fans their first opportunity to see him perform live.
Image via MetaMoon Music Festival.
“This is the first time I can really show my stage and sing as much as I want for my fans, who know that all my shows have a very unique stage,” Lau told Billboard in an interview. “I like to take a lot of props on stage and record them into songs. I’m really excited that people in America can see that from me for the first time.”
Lau also expressed his enthusiasm about sharing his personal experiences and identity to contribute to the conference section of the festival.
“There are a lot of aspiring musicians, and I hope that my experiences can help give them a good idea of what to expect and what they need to work on in certain aspects. I’m just very excited to be sharing my story.”
Additionally, Lau revealed plans to perform a new solo song, “Always Been You,” at the festival.
Presale for tickets started May 22nd and general sales started May 24th, available at Ticketmaster.
Banner image via Youtube.
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