Picturing the human condition

Besides the rock-pushing painting, which is part of the Time of Rebirth series that was conceived especially for the exhibition, the showcase also features the Witness to Growth series in which Yu uses her own life and the birth of her daughter in 1994 as the foundation for the narrative. Launched in 1999, the series acts as a record of her life by pairing a photo from a news event in a particular year with an autobiographical painting of herself and her daughter, Liu Wa, that is based on photographs taken that year.

Another series included in the show is Half-Hundred Mirrors, which in Chinese means "50 years old". It relies on virtual reality technology to showcase the birth and the growth of a girl, as well as the development of a group of kids from childhood to adulthood, representing the development and changes of the Chinese society.

The exhibition also devotes a section to highlighting Yu's portraits. A total of 17 portraits, 10 of which were specially created for the exhibition, show the change of the various subjects through the decades.

"Time is truly awe-inspiring to me," Yu says. "It can change almost everything. It can create something from nothing and make something into nothing, transforming the world completely.

"As an artist, all I can do is to offer some discussion through my work on how, as a human being, you can shape your time, and be shaped by time."