Brotherhood, Manhood is a showcase of artworks by a group Chinese artists born in the 1960s. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"There is chaos and disorder in it. People will get lost in it. They may be engulfed by a whirlpool of social changes without realizing what has happened," he explains.

He attempts to raise viewers' awareness of how they coexist with their surroundings, by detaching themselves from the mainstream or being carried along with it.

In Zhang Xiaodong's works, the 47-year-old delves into the same theme while being more specific about people's attitudes toward money.

His Big Money Purses series combines oil painting with collages of cloth pieces. They feature highly cartoonized images and vivid colors.

Zhang lived in Japan for years to complete his master's degree. He was influenced by animation aesthetics there and experiments with translating the language of animation and pop art into the context of Chinese art and social realities.

He says does not criticize money worship or materialistic values in his works, but he views it more as a revolutionary concept through which people strive for a better living－forcing them to juggle between the right and wrong.

If you go

9:30 am-6:30 pm, through Dec 31. Zoomart Gallery, 330 Caochangdi art village, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-5301-7393.

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