Sailor and Monster
Yang Shen
杨深
Production date
2016
Object Detail
Media
oil on canvas
Measurements
210 x 175 cm
Notes
A uniformed sailor is painted in shades of lime green, viridian and blue. The smoke from his cigarette rises into the sky to form a mushroom cloud, and the theme of death and destruction is echoed in the skull at his feet. He seems oblivious to the orange sea serpent thrusting its head out of the lake with a tiny submarine gripped in its jaws. Loosely painted, linear elements of the background recall the expressive brushwork of the Chinese artists Yang most admires, such as Northern Song Dynasty painter Guo Xi (1020–1090), and modern literati painter Huang Binhong (1865–1955).
Accession number
2018.032