Artist converts his mouth feel to paintings

Artist He Xiangyu's artwork will be on display in Beijing's 798 Art Zone. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

His first attempts were like anatomic maps. He found the drawing process as difficult as that of "a visually impaired people recognizing Braille alphabets". He only added colors after he felt more assured of what he painted. And he turned to a more abstract style to express the feeling of repeated tongue movements.

The 29-year-old drew early attention for his Coca Cola Project and Tank Project, in which he questions the commercialization of contemporary art. The first work was made of byproducts of boiling down 127 tons of Coca Cola, and the second was a Soviet-style tank that was sewn together with more than 400 pieces of quality Italian leather.

The exhibition New Directions: He Xiangyu runs until Aug 9 at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing's 798 Art Zone.