Fan de Zhou

An image of tumbling jellyfish, cascading from the heavens with peculiar grace as they lower in their parachutes forming fungi on the velveteen grass. A vision of an obese child, mole ridden, with fat-tires forming rings around his neck as he promises ‘Teacher, I Won’t Do It Again’. Shanxi Province born artist Zhou Fan recounts the lucid dreams of his youth, transferring the cryptic fantasies of his childhood onto large-scale canvases in a signature style that can only be described as Studio Ghibli on acid. Although appearing cheerful at first glance, through a combination of Zhou’s eclectic, saturated colour palette and graphic, cartoon-esque style, his images possess a disturbing and almost melancholic undertone. Providing a unique social commentary on the inherently cruel and destructive nature of man, whilst investigating the effects of societal change in China.