Carpe Diem By Luo Yang

When we talk about “Ba ling hou” (born after the 1980s) in China, we are actually talking about the first generation born under the one-child policy and raised during the reform and opening up led by Deng Xiaoping after the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).

This generation grew up together with the Internet and social media, melting into a consumer society that is totally in rupture with the preceding generations. Luo Yang, a photographer born in 1984, is also one of them.

Luo Yang keeps “documenting” the post-teenagers and young adults that she met in her everyday life, using her works to tell the "story of youth" across generations. She depicts an emerging Chinese youth culture through her work that defies imposed expectations and stereotypes, showing evidence of her subjects’ individuality and personality. It is a personal account at femininity, gender, and identity that reflects the profound and ongoing changes taking place in our society.