Artist Wu Jian'an. Boxing Men is part of a new series of work by Wu Jian’an. Created in 2020, it is the artist’s first fully digital art piece. Although the theme of the series is new, like many of Wu’s previous series, each of the artworks is created by using many small, overlapping elements to create a larger image. When looking at the artwork in detail, it becomes apparent that the individual elements are actually ‘cut-outs’ of animals, mythical creatures, faces and figures. Wu Jian’an first created these characters for his 2007 installation piece called The Seven-Layered Shell, where they were physically cut-out and arranged to create enormous artworks on silk. Most of the characters are inspired by ancient mythology – some are based on Greek vase paintings or ancient Roman sculptures, and others are inspired by Chinese Han Dynasty stone carvings.