Wang Mai is a witty and humorous artist. He has always liked to question the past, especially likes to find inspiration in China’s national history, using past examples to criticize the present. He is also good at using all sorts of special materials to represent sensitive topics. In the 1990s, he began to select and separate elements from the absurd formality of complex and chaotic daily life. He recreated these elements in a humour way to demonstrate the “incredibility” of reality. Some symbols were left behind by the artist with or without intention, which can be connected and compared with the icons conducted by the artist.

From 2000, Wang began to use more traditional symbols that gave historical significance to his works. His recent “Future Buddha” series employ the Chinese tradition of Buddha worship and the belief that science and technology will bring forth a breakthrough in modern Chinese society, thus created a “Future Buddha” accompanied with sacrament, auspicious beasts and instruments. The series “Future Buddha” embodies the conflicts of old tradition and modern belief, yet coincidentally reflects the chaos that characterizes social desire and moral principles in modern Chinese society.