I like to express my thoughts through images of Mao Zedong. I have also painted other subjects, such as the Chinese currency, the renminbi; bicycles; playing cards; and abstract woks, the Circle series. The reason I have chosen Mao as a favorite subject is because he is a popular character, both among Chinese and Westerners. I myself consider him a legendary figure worth depicting. During the Cultural Revolution, portraits of Mao were deified: they exuded a feeling of political passion and cultureless superstition. Mao advocated getting rid of the “Four Old Principles.” He opposed the use of the dragon and phoenix pattern, which to him was a symbol of the blind worship of the monarchy….
My goal is to depict the figure of Mao in a new light.

Yu Youhan paintings' fuse Chinese iconography with Western images. A key figure in the Political Pop movement, he influenced the direction of avant-garde art and the Shanghai Minimalist movement. Yu Youhan’s earlier work is directly influenced by his experiences during the Cultural Revolution. He recreates typical and recognizable Mao poses and places them in flamboyant, colorful and floral settings, creating new meaning to Mao’s principles of “art for the purpose of political instruction” and “art for the pleasure of the masses” (Hanart).