The first illustration series of 'Life in the Orient' in 2003

The illustration was presented as a flash calendar.

The birth of this calendar did not happened overnight. Neither was the illustrations drawn for a calendar intentionally. The beginning of this calendar flew back to my trip to Shanghai in 2001. Like any other big city, Shanghai is flooded with human traffic, billboards, skyscrapers, etc. You can find people enjoying the finest luxuries in life at one corner and a group of homeless and locals selling stuff on the street trying to make a living. Everyday, masses of people from the villages rush into the city having the disillusion that the city would bring them fortune. They ended idling themselves aimlessly on the street shattered by their dreams. I started capturing and illustrating these people and their moments of life.

The early 1990s was the beginning of invitation of capitalist business investment from foreign investor. And as the city prospers with international investments, Shanghai is still a city of contradiction as poverty is still prevalent.