Drawing inspiration

From the age of 18 to 32, caricaturist Zhai Jin hardly left his own home in Anhui province. He was diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as the brittle bone disease, an illness that made him prone to fractures.

Even though he has loving family members, for a long time he felt that he was trapped in a small space, with little knowledge of, and limited access to, society, and he longed to see the outside world.

In 2016, he left for Beijing to attend a training program named "independent living" hosted by the China-Dolls Center for Rare Disorders.

"One day, I went outside and had a late-night meal with my friends at 3 o'clock in the morning. On my way home, I was the only person on that road, apart, perhaps, from a few drunken men. At that moment, I suddenly felt that the road belonged only to me," Zhai told the third UK-China Disability Arts Forum on Dec 3.

"This feeling seems very simple. Maybe a lot of people feel it occasionally and naturally when they grow up. But it was a whole new experience for me. I felt that I had acquired something for the first time, simply by journeying alone on the road."

It was also in Beijing when he was introduced to symbiotic dance－the principle of which is that everyone, disabled or not, can enjoy dancing－and contact improvisation, a dance form that encourages physical contact with others.

"Once, a dance session that incorporated contact improvisation truly changed me. That day, I descended from my wheelchair to the floor, and a 70-kilogram man rolled over me," Zhai says.

"I don't know why, but I suddenly felt that I was a useful person, that my body was useful, too. It could support a strong man, even two people. I felt a sense of confidence from the bottom of my heart."

Since then, he has become involved in various inclusive art projects and is making a living with his skills as a caricature artist.

Zhai's interest in painting started at an early age. He recalls that, at about 3 years old, he liked to scribble on random pieces of paper, an activity encouraged by his parents because it required him to stay still and avoid physical strain.

Influenced by animated TV series and graphic novels, he started copying the characters, designing those of his own and conceiving original stories for them in his mind.

To improve his ability in character design, he practiced creating manga characters that were based on real people, a style that he later learned was quite similar to Japanese caricature art.

Knowing that there was a demand for such drawings, and confident in his own abilities, in 2019, he launched his own brand Gene's Caricature, offering personalized caricatures, both in person and online.

He often sets up his stall in a market, sits in front of clients, asking and learning what they would like to be created. He says painting for a client always gives him a sense of achievement.

"Those faces are all real. Each face is like a book, and I have the honor of reading each and every one of them, even if it is just a few pages," Zhai says.

"Once I was talking to a photographer friend, and we both felt a sort of empowering pleasure in capturing our subjects and presenting them inside a frame. Different from photography, however, caricature allows me to re-create my subjects. They are my original creations, and I get to exercise my inspiration in my own domain."

He also opened an account on Bilibili, which now has around 7,000 followers. He posts video blogs of himself creating caricatures and about his everyday life.

Under one such video, one viewer comments: "You're really very hardworking. Your creations might appear simplistic, with only a few strokes, but they are able to bring people happiness, warmth and consolation."