Zheng’s art is a boisterous riot of east meets west; his subjects are assembled in an abstracted form, yet retain an essentially Chinese character through his free and decisive ink strokes. Landscape, animals, men and women are arrayed in many overlapping layers to form a surrealistic stage play. Often set in history, traditionally dressed actors play out their stories. Peeling back the layers reveals the rich metaphor and symbolism carefully embedded in each of his creations.

Zheng Yuan Wu relishes in demolishing traditional Chinese ink concepts of composition and space. Water, ink, lines and colour simultaneously vie for attention. He adopts an intuitive, almost naïve approach to painting, where freedom is favored above traditional academic rules.