Zhexing Shang works primarily with graphite and charcoal on paper. For him, monochrome is closer to the shape of memory. His imagery grows from fragmented experiences—urban scenes, childhood textbooks, manga, political symbols, and everyday objects—recombined in a non-linear manner. Compositions develop through sustained looking, adjustment, and layering, as he intuitively searches for balance. Drawing functions as a test of instinct. Figures are often enlarged, cropped, or distorted, becoming sites of tension, desire, and vulnerability. The body is frequently set against rigid structures, producing emotional and spatial conflict. Shang treats the image as a field continually reshaped by occlusion and shifting relations. The removal of color focuses attention on volume and form, leaving meanings deliberately open.

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