Icon shuns Shanghai bubble bath

Tada Icon describes his art as "digital painting", that is, if you are lucky enough to ever hear him describe anything.

"He lives in a bubble," said Magda Danysz, curator of the 38-year-old Japanese artist's first solo exhibition in China. Oddly, Takada was nowhere to be found at last week's show. It turns out he was too shy to attend.

"Each of the bubbles is like an individual with his or her own specific DNA character," added Danysz, referring to a video project by Tada showing bubbles of different colors and sizes as they are attracted to and repulsed by one another, a simple metaphor for interpersonal relations.