-- Artist statement
Postman is such a romantic job. Every day They convey people’s expectations and fantasies about distant news. When I was young, I used to sit at the door of the alleys in the neighborhood, watching the postman enviously. They used to ride the bicycle through the alleys on time every afternoon sending letters, seemed to have no idea how happy they are.
The filming location of Postman is the place where I watched the postman when I was a child. Thirty years later, this block is about to be demolished. I use this work for the sake of my own memory. My memory in this city has also lost its coordinates, hence I have the ideas of Postman. To commemorate the demise of a certain romantic. This is a poem I wrote to my hometown of Shanghai, dedicated to all the beauty that cannot be kept.
Maleonn (whose real name Maliang, 马良) was born in 1972, Shanghai, China. He entered Shanghai Huashan Art School when he was 12 years old. He then went to Fine Art College of Shanghai University, majored in Graphic design. By 1995, he has completed his art study of 11 years. After graduation, he went into the world of advertisement and became a director of commercial filming. During this period of his career, he has won golden award of the China International Advertising Festival twice.
In 2004, Maleonn quit his previous job and started his career as an artist, creating graphic art by the media of photography, as well as drawing and installation art. In 2012, Maleonn started his public art project, the Studio Mobile. He put his photo studio into two mini vans, and travelled through China for 10 months, taking free portraits for 1,600 strangers in 35 cities. The event has led to a nation-wide attention to this very artist, and created enthusiastic discussion on the internet. Maleonn now lives and works in Shanghai, China.