| This is an age of imagery. We see a great number of pictures every day. People want better and better quality for the images they see. The more exaggerative, the more exciting, the more sensational the image is, the better. However, if an artist creates an image solely for the sake of getting attention, without a slight sense of social responsibility, this kind of art would be worthless. This is the difference between fine art and commercial art. Advertising has a drastic effect on consumer consumption, our lives, and emotions. It is an essential part of life. | 
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Zhang Sui-Yang is an artist based in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Zhang Sui-Yang, A Thousand-Year Generation No. 4, 2008. Courtesy of the artist.This is an age of imagery. We see a great number of pictures every day. People want better and better quality for the images they see. The more exaggerative, the more exciting, the more sensational the image is, the better. However, if an artist creates an image solely for the sake of getting attention, without a slight sense of social responsibility, this kind of art would be worthless. This is the difference between fine art and commercial art.
Advertising has a drastic effect on consumer consumption, our lives, and emotions. It is an essential part of life. It manipulates our perception of what is fashionable, what is popular, what success is, what a high-quality lifestyle is, what is good, what is bad, or what kind of house we should buy. As time passes, what advertising portrays has become the standard value that dictates our thoughts. But is this real? I often question my values. The answer is not easy to find. Maybe each one of us is only a tiny part of society and holds no importance whatsoever. What I really wanted to say is that we’ve lost our ability to think independently and creatively.
That’s the idea I wanted to express in the series It Decorates Our Body! But what Decorates Our Heart?. I feel like we are being controlled by advertising all the time. It dominates our choice-making process. It seems like we are living in a cage. We feel enslaved, stressed, and anxious. We try to struggle. We scream. But we are helpless.
In the series Finally I Got a Chance to Kill You, I wanted to show my concern about what’s happening in common people’s lives. Toward most social problems I feel anger. Most of the time I would just keep my mouth shut because there is nothing I can do. Through my works, which creates a virtual space, I can express something I want to do but cannot do in reality.
This is an age of high technology filled with computers, games, and cartoons. The characters in cartoon films, games, and caricature books are the new generations’ idols. They provide a virtual space for imagination. As a man from the 70s living in the new age, I feel the deep effects of this culture on China and the world. Art as a reflection of the times and society is an essential element of my creation. The phenomena and problems in the new age have impacted me in various ways, and this is what inspires me. The element of cartoon, game, and caricature is a major focus in my work. Sometimes it plays a leading role. Sometimes it’s just a symbol I use to express my feels and thoughts. Sometimes it is absurd, ridiculous, or humorous, but most of the time it’s serious, because I believe an artist is on a certain mission in this world.
