Tang Shuo Chinese, b. 1987

Tang Shuo lives and works in Liverpool. His initial interest was in installation and materials art that he studied at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing, China. On moving to the United Kingdom in 2020, he turned solely to painting. His work explores memories of his childhood in rural Southern China, where tropical plants grow and which is home to many wild animals. The figures in his paintings derive from himself and echo a game he used to play as a child. He and his friends would play different roles and take on various identities such as shepherd, woodcutter or hunter. In his paintings, he pursues this game by painting himself in different poses and imagining himself in these roles.

When he moved to England, he had to face many changes adapting to a new lifestyle and had to rethink what was now his country and his identity. In his work he questions the relationship between individuals and society, revealing a certain feeling of loneliness and alienation, with painting as a form of solace. Memory, identity and connection are important themes in his work.