About the artwork
The Pressure of Studying features three figures of boys tilted at an angle, seeming to charge in three different directions. The chubby cheeks of the boys in Wu's subject matter are symbolic of the inflated desires that youths today possess. The heads of the boys are exaggerated as compared to the rest of their bodies, reflective of the emotional and physical burdens which youths today carry as a result of striving for what society pressures him or her to achieve, which is to study hard and be much more acomplished in life than the others.
About the artist
Born in 1982, Fujian Province, China, sculptor Wu Liang Yan creates sculptures representing the new face of Chinese youth. In all his works, the same figure is used - a young child with plump cheeks, bearing a disproportionately large head that is tilted upwards, with a red tie around his neck. Each part of the child's form is laden with meaning in the context of China's history and progression. Wu Liang Yan graduated from the prestigious Fujian Art Institute. Today, his critically acclaimed sculptures have been exhibited in both group and solo exhibitions in Xiamen, Beijing and France.
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