To his art's content

The most challenging works are for the TCM series, ones which Wu has been constantly developing and improving since 2015.

The basic idea behind the TCM series is to represent cultural motifs and totems through iconic images from civilizations from around the world, by filling pre-coated stainless steel frames with over 300 traditional Chinese medicines－from minerals and herbs to the remains of animals. And then, the newly-coined images are solidified with synthetic crystals.

The second installment of Wu's first debut show has also received positive responses.

"Each artwork approaches human civilizations from differing dimensions: evolution and mutation; culture and nature; the past, present and the future; the living, the dead and the eternal. Together, they construct a grand, historical narrative about the human condition," says Peng Feng, an art researcher with Peking University.

"Wu's art touches upon the Chinese heritage of oracle bones, the Taoist philosophy of the oneness of man and nature, and new possibilities of cross-cultural dialogue," comments Zhang Jianxing, a viewer who is also the managing publisher of a local newspaper. "His attempt to deconstruct traditional culture and transform it into new culture, successful or not, is commendable in that it opens up our hearts and minds to an alternative future."

So what's next for the artist? Like a high school student who has just passed the gaokao, China's national college entrance exam, Wu says, he is looking to widen his audience on the international art scene.