This exhibition presents a five-year visual dialogue between photographic artist Haidian Lanwei (Zhang Bonan) and physical theatre actress Sky — a profound conversation in images that has unfolded over time.

Since 2021, the photographer has been documenting Sky’s creative journey across four monodramas. This exhibition marks the first comprehensive public showing of this body of work.

The exhibition centers on four seminal monodramas by Sky: three directed by renowned French mime master Philippe Bizot — One Day in Annie Hooker’s Life, Delay, and We Are Beautiful — alongside her self-directed debut performance, House of Mystery. Together, these works chart a distinct artistic trajectory from exploration to maturity.

On stage, Sky uses her body as the sole narrator, moving fluidly between the discipline of her training and the freedom of personal discovery. Her body becomes both a vessel of tradition and a medium of expression. Engaging with unseen counterparts in empty spaces, she weaves together Eastern and Western performance aesthetics, mapping emotional contours and giving form to the soul’s soliloquies.

Haidian Lanwei’s photography transcends the conventional documentary function of stage stills, delving into the performer’s ‘second layer of performance.’ It captures the most genuine tremors, breaths, and silences that emerge through different roles. Within Sky’s solitary form reside multitudes of thought; out of solitude, she forges sparks of emotion. This is not merely a documentation of theatre but a profound re-creation of the performing arts.


Those fleeting moments on stage are imbued with a timeless quality, crystallized into visual poetry that invites reflection. The exhibition becomes a quiet dialogue on time, performance, and existence.

Gazing into this captured solitude, we glimpse the shadows and echoes of our own souls.

Haidian Lanwei | Stage Photography Artist

Haidian Lanwei is a distinctive stage photographer in China’s theatre scene, renowned for his ability to capture theatrical emotion with precision and to tell stories through powerful visual imagery. He has long collaborated on numerous theatre productions.

His photographic aesthetic grows from an obsession with dynamic vitality. From his early work capturing the agility of wild monkeys in remote mountains, to his focus on the intense energy of rock concerts, and now to his deep immersion in the world of theatre, his lens consistently seeks out the raw, eruptive moments of unfiltered life.

Since first photographing Sky in House of Mystery in 2021, he has continued to document her performances. For him, Sky’s artistry embodies a pure, almost wild vitality. His work, approached with reverence, stands as a testament to this rare creative energy.