Here, Yang Bin masters the theme of still life, which reached its apogee with Flemish and Dutch painting in the Golden Age, with floral compositions being one of the most widespread pictorial genres. On a table, a cleverly composed bouquet of a dense variety of flowers is shown here, bringing together lilies, hydrangeas, roses, and poppies. Like paintings by Ambrosius Bosschaert or, later, Rachel Ruysch, the objects represented here stand out softly against the dark background of the room. A lateral light illuminates them, thus revealing the diversity of their colours and textures. In a similar manner to the still lifes of yesteryear that were designed as symbolic reductions of the earthly world for the purposes of meditation, Yang Bin's photographs also seem to bear hidden meaning. As suggested by their various elements (dried fruit, wilted flowers, butterflies), these images might perpetuate thoughts on the fragility of existence and the ephemeral character of life on Earth.

**The artist: Yang Bin**

After studying the history of art with a focus on classical painting, Yang Bin, then 31 years old, finally launched himself into photography. Success was rapid and works by this Chinese artist, born in Beijing in 1975, already feature in numerous private collections around the world. Now a photographer, the artist is not ready to renounce his theoretical painting background. Yang Bin composes his photographs like a painter constructs paintings and an artist’s style transforms his models.