Du Gu from The Breath of the Wind in the Pines

Zao Dao (born July 1990) cartoonist and illustrator from southern China’s Guangdong Province began publishing her work online in 2011, leading to her first book commission in 2013 released as Song of Sylvan (2015), followed by Carnet Sauvage (2016) and Le Souffle du vent dans les pins (2016) translated and published in France and Italy, and two book set Ink of Wild (2017). Dao most recently released her first book translated in English Cuisine Chinoise: Five Tales of Food and Life (2020) featuring insects looking for a meal made of ghosts and a man named Yuzi who's passion for cooking is the only hope of maintaining a family legacy. Zao Dao’s artworks in ink and watercolour are widely recognised for her distinctive style blending the mystical and mythical with modern cotemporary graphic techniques, her influences ranging from Buddhism and traditional Chinese painting to Japanese manga comics.

This work features in Mangasia: Wonderlands of Asian Comics, a Barbican International Enterprises exhibition, curated by Paul Gravett. Mangasia presents a vivid journey through the art of Comics and visual storytelling across Asia. From its historical roots to the most recent digital innovations, the exhibition looks to popular Japanese ‘Manga’ and beyond, highlighting key creators, characters and publications.