A Summer Study of Curiosity C1

Highly acclaimed in the world of illustration, the talented Shan Jiang’s works transcend the boundary between fine art and illustration. Shan’s immaculately detailed and captivating works are the result of the artist’s constant exploration in developing visual language and style to express his personal and visual experiences.

Shan constantly conjures up mesmerizing imageries inspired by his memories of Shanghai, where he was born and grew up in. To Shan, the city of Shanghai contains a myriad of conflicting ideology, cultures, identity and history. Shan’s surreal compositions call for the looking beyond of the superficial façade of China’s prosperity and the awareness of the inherent decay that would lead to its eventual decline.

Other key influences from which he continually seeks inspirations for his works include the ubiquitous bicycle that is a pivotal object of his memory of China in the 80’s and early 90’s; anime; and literature especially the works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Italo Calvino and Murakami Haruki. He is also inspired by the works of other artists including Kiyoshi Awazu's design and illustration; Moebius's “40 Days In The Desert”; Rene Magritte's “Golconda” and Gong Suran's “Lady Ming Leaving Han Realm”.

Having completed his Master of Design (M.Des) at Edinburgh College of Art in 2004, Shan worked at one of UK’s leading design studios ILoveDust for 7 years, quickly establishing himself as a leading voice in the illustration world. He then joined the dynamic London-based design company Shotopop as a partner in mid 2012. Shan currently lives and works in London.