Ant sculptures, made of stainless steel and in various sizes, occupy the entrance and exhibition halls at Beijing's Today Art Museum, where Chinese artist Chen Zhiguang is holding his solo show, With Dignity. Photo provided to China Daily

But in recent years, he has moved to create crowds of ants in installations and has used a wide range of colors on their surface.

He has softened the rebellious nature of a single ant and, instead, accentuated their collectivity.

The change reflects his own evolving personality, from being an angry young artist to a restrained person today, pondering how social transformations shape people's collective mentality.