Colorful illustration of everyday life is a salient aspect of Zhigang Zhang’s artworks. Zhigang Zhang is an illustrator based in China and the UK. In the Malatang series, Zhang depicts the everyday life activity of young people in China eating one of the famous street foods.
According to Zhang, youth people in China experience a tough life. “They work so hard with long hours in order to make money for their families and pay for high mortgages”. For them, enjoyment of a day often comes from eating Malatang, one of the most popular foods in China. Zhang’s series portrays how people immerse themselves in emotional moments when eating a bowl of Malatang.
https://www.zhigangart.com/malatang-food
https://www.zhigangart.com/malatang-food
In the Malatang series, the artist illustrates people with red skin sitting and enjoying their Malatang. They come from different backgrounds either a worker or student, young or old, and women or men. Inside the street food stall, the consumers savor their favorite Malatang. Zhang feels the red color for the skin tone is suitable for him “to express the character’s emotion and feeling”.
Every consumer seems to have their own experience in eating their Malatang. But, among them, the most common thing is that they focus and immerse into enjoyment when digging in the Malatang. Bright yellow, blue, and green create a vibrant illustration of an ecstatic moment in eating.
In one of the illustrations, a young man wearing a yellow jumper uses his chopsticks to pinch noodles from his Malatang bowl. The Malatang looks spicy since its key ingredient is mala sauce which is made from a combination of peppers. Ahead him, another man was also enjoying his Malatang. The fusion of warm and cool colors in this picture makes both a lively and soothing atmosphere.
Every Sunday night Zhang goes to eat Malatang. He’s doing his observation on how other consumers feel, act, and taste the food. He wants to document this everyday life precious moment in his artwork. Almost in all of his works, Zhang dedicates them to capturing the moments and narratives happening around him. We can view another series, like Illustrations From a Small Island (2020) that depicts comical or quirky moments he encountered when wandering in a city in the UK.
Previously, Zhang worked as an art teacher in China. He moved to the UK to study illustration at the Arts University Bournemouth, Poole, England. Currently, he works in the UK, while fulfilling his desire to discover and learn more about British culture.
Zhigang Zhang is a creative illustrator who can transmit happiness and lively vibes through his artworks. His interest in real life suggests the viewers see their routine activities from other perspectives and find the beauty of everyday life.