Born in China’s Shandong province, Ling attended Qinghua University Art College in Beijing, and graduated in 1986. He lived and worked in Vienna and Hamburg throughout the 1980s, and has divided his time between Berlin and Beijing since 1996. Ling’s paintings address issues of personal identity in China and examine the social and political aspects of Chinese life. Sharks have existed for 500 million years, so they have a lengthy history behind them. Concepts of time and the universe are often related to infinity, yet this idea is unfathomable for the human mind. This makes it difficult for humanity to grasp its own insignificance. Research into sharks has revealed that overfishing is having a detrimental effect on their populations. As an artist, Ling Jian feels he has a social responsibility to make people aware of the urgent need to protect sharks and the natural world.