In 1996, Chinese artists Rong Rong and Liu Zheng released New Photo, a self-published magazine composed of photocopies that they bound together by hand. In it, they wrote: “When concept enters Chinese photography, it is as if a window suddenly opens in a room that has been sealed for years. We can now breathe comfortably, and we now reach a new meaning of ‘new photography.’” The two practitioners were working at a time of mass artistic change for the country. According to Yale University Press, “artists who had been trained in more traditional media recognised the camera’s unique ability to capture and distil the dizzying transformation of the world around them.” This was the era of Ai Weiwei, Cao Fei and LuYang. Since then, generations of Chinese artists have followed in their stead, using the lens to document their unique contemporary moment, both in the nation and across the world.
One such example is Hailun Ma, one of the leading voices in Chinese image-making, whose work moves between autonomous practice, editorial photography and fashion commissions. The artist’s practice is now the subject of a new show at Foam, Amsterdam, representing her first international museum solo exhibition outside of China. Born and raised in Xinjiang and later educated in New York, Ma brings a perspective shaped by living between cultures. Her photography examines the relationship between people, place and identity across Central Asia and contemporary China, drawing on personal experience, while engaging broader questions of belonging, representation and cultural continuity.
Foam’s show brings together several of Ma’s recent series, including Xinjiang Fashion Guide, Streetculture, Family and Urban Arts. Together, they present a portrait of daily life in Xinjiang through family relationships, youth culture and local style. Many of the photographs are bright, playful and marked by moments of humour; in her work, she moves fluidly between carefully staged compositions and spontaneous encounters. Hometown moves beyond generalised representations of Xinjiang, the largest and most westerly region of China. Instead, Ma roots her photographs in everyday experience, capturing the people and places she knows and allowing ordinary moments to reveal the complexity of contemporary life. Her images speak before they are explained, inviting visitors to look closely at how home is continually shaped through family, migration, friendship and the cultures people create. In doing so, Hometown shows a personal portrait of one of China’s most culturally diverse regions.
Alongside these series, the exhibition includes a selection of magazine covers created for international fashion publications. Here, Ma really shines, displaying her extensive experience working with some of the biggest names in the world. These include New York Magazine, i-D, GC China and Vogue, as well as her April 2024 cover with Rihanna. Hometown is particularly interesting in its movement between the commercial and the personal. Ma is an artist that refuses to draw clear lines between the two, with much of her magazine and editorial work also examining identity, womanhood, youth culture and emotional intimacy. In her images, the traditional clashes with the contemporary – patterned rugs line a room where a boxer trains with a punch bag. One image shows a customary dwelling, nestled in the snow, before the next shot reveals a young woman, dressed in pink lace, leopard print and leather as she stands before a motorbike. Ma brings these two worlds together, telling a complex and nuanced story of the country.
This autumn, Foam is transformed into a world where fashion becomes a lens for social observation. Ma continues a well-established photographic tradition of innovation and boundary-pushing, where genres and approaches blend to form a more complete picture of contemporary China. This exhibition is a reminder of why she’s regarded as one of the most influential voices on the scene today. It may be her first major solo show outside of China, but it is almost guaranteed that this will not be her last.
Hailun Ma: Hometown is at Foam, Amsterdam from 18 September – 20 January: foam.org
Words: Emma Jacob
Image Credits:
1&5. Kashi Youth, 2025 © Hailun Ma.
2. Hometown, 2025 © Hailun Ma.
3. Uruklyn, 2024 © Hailun Ma.
4. Love in Tashkurgan, 2025 © Hailun Ma.
