Image 1 of 11
Image 2 of 11
Image 3 of 11
Image 4 of 11
Image 5 of 11
Image 6 of 11
Image 7 of 11
Image 8 of 11
Image 9 of 11
Image 10 of 11
Image 11 of 11
Almost Naked is a series of portraits exploring identity and sexuality in America. Inspired by the artist's upbringing in conservative China, and motivated by his passion to understand the complexity of emotion, desire, introspection and instinct.
The images are not sexual (or sexualizing) in nature but rather form an exploration of American identity and sexuality by studying the individual in front of the camera.
“By the time I had finished shooting, I was photographing a person fully naked, not only holding my gaze but also looking straight into my eyes, into my soul. My heart was pounding and I had tears in my eyes. Even though I felt almost naked, I also felt an incredible sense of peace.”
— from Shen Wei’s afterword (regarding the first time he took a nude photograph for this series)
About the Artist:
Shen Wei was born in 1977 in Shanghai, China. His work has been exhibited internationally, with venues including the Museum of the City of New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Power Station of Art in Shanghai, the North Carolina Museum of Art, the Flowers Gallery in New York, and the Signum Foundation in Poland. His work is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Getty Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, the Library of Congress, the He Xiangning Art Museum, the Carnegie Museum of Art, and the Museum of Chinese in America, among others. He is a recipient of the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Arts Residency, the Asian Cultural Council Arts Fellowship, the New York Foundation for the Arts Photography Fellowship. He holds an MFA in photography, video, and related media from the School of Visual Arts, New York; and a BFA from Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
