Exhibition: Chen Man, Chinese Arts Centre, Manchester, until April 7 2012

Perhaps it’s fitting that Chen Man, a young photographer who admits to heavy manipulation, complex layers of post-production, a hyper-real image aesthetic and a desire for “unobtainable perfection”, should have become of a favourite of Elle, Cosmopolitan and Vogue in her native China.

Still only in her early 30s, Man has enjoyed a meteoric rise since graduating from Beijing’s Central Academy of Fine Art in 2005, counting advert commissions for Adidas, Nike and Motorola among her latest projects.

This is the first chance for UK audiences to see her in a solo show, demonstrating her ability to mix street culture, animation, sci-fi and pop art in seductive, saccharine visual fairytales which hint strongly at the rise of consumer culture in the East.

The underlying allusion, suggests the gallery, nods to a new generation growing up in a changing China.

• Open Tuesday-Saturday 10am-5pm. Admission free.

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