Mapping a blazing talent

Xiang's works received recognition from his peers and visitors at the Beijing exhibition, which concluded on Sunday.

"The artist attempts to control the marks of fire on paper to create a totem of the tug between control and loss of control," says Guan Yichi, a 33-year-old artist based in Beijing.

"However, it is clear that Xiang has no intention of compromising. The uncontrollable spread of fire on paper is where this silent game comes to life."

Xiang graduated from Shandong University of Art and Design in Jinan, Shandong province, in 2006, with a major in visual communication design, and then worked for Wieden+Kennedy, a US-based advertising agency in Shanghai.

In 2014, he moved to Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, and worked with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group until he resigned and became a full-time independent artist in 2017.