Paintings by Zhou Linzi, a Shenzhen artist born in 2005, are exhibited at the Chao Museum, at the Sea World Culture and Arts Center.

A four-day solo exhibition titled “The East to the West” will last through today.

The 16-year-old painter is a high school student in Switzerland. Talking about the theme of the exhibition, she said that “I once showed photos about Shenzhen to my classmates, who were surprised by my hometown’s prosperity. In their minds, China is still a pre-industry country. I decided to change their prejudice by showing them the real China through my art.”

One of her works is titled “Guanyin and Cold Brew.” Zhou painted the goddess of Eastern culture with coffee grains, which is an exotic drink for Eastern people. A combination of Western daily life and Eastern spirits triggers a conversation between two sides.

A very different painting named “Buying Soy Sauce” is a copy of a work by Ruben but is drawn with soy sauce, a traditional cooking condiment created during the Han dynasty (202 B.C.-220 A.D.), which leads to a strong contrast.

Zhou designed two languages in forms of Eastern mortise and 10 on joints and Western classic architecture in two artworks, “East” and “West.” The pictographs present her reflections on the civilizations of East and West.

A total of over 70 pictures from 10 series are on display in this solo-show, including “Self-Portrait,” “Footprints,” “Sound of the Times” and others.

“I hope Zhou can represent this generation of Shenzheners to convey open-minded voices and construct a world language in the exhibition,” said Duan Jingyi, head of Xiaoyanchao, the host of Chao Museum.

“The past 100 years is a period when the East learned from the West. The East followed the mainstream culture in Western society then. Now, it is time for Eastern culture to rejuvenate and to be spread to the West, such as Chinese traditional costumes, oil-paper umbrellas, and so on,” said Zhou. (Xia Yuanjie)