It's important for me to give each thing the possibility to speak and also to allow artworks speak to each other.

'Understanding' art is like having a sense of humour - if you don't have one, no amount of explanation is going to make you laugh.

You can't force yourself to be something you are not.

Usually people start with painting and then go on to make installations; my painting came from installation.

The first exhibition that I used bright colours in painting the room was at a gallery in Paris, and there were seven rooms in the gallery. It was very nice gallery, not very big rooms, around the courtyard, it was a very French space. So I painted each room in different colour. When people came to the exhibition, I saw they came with a smile. Everybody smiles - this is something I never saw in my work before.

My idea for every exhibition is we should be able to see every individual work without being distracted by the others, and it doesn't matter if it's quite crowded.

I had my exhibition of paintings first in Shanghai, and then recently in Wuhan. Wuhan particularly interested me, because I am 1/8 Chinese.