Contemporary Chinese painter, sculptor, and printmaker Yue Minjun is best known for his iconic smiling self-portrait. He is associated with the Chinese “Cynical Realist” movement; however, Yue Minjun rejects this classification and propounds that his unique works are unclassifiable to any registered style.

Vitality is a sculpture of himself frozen in laughter. The dark-coloured figurine functions as an incense holder resulting in smoke exiting from Yue Minjun’s wide smile.