Shen Ling is one of the few contemporary Chinese artists who has illustrated the intimate lived everyday experiences of real people, sharing kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms. These paintings, made mostly between the mid-1990s and 2010, document the erotic life of her family and friends, challenging many of the conventional stereotypes about Chinese sexuality.

She uses unconventional painting methods to create colourful scenarios with critical and satirical elements which work on a psychological and emotional level as well as artistically, documenting scenes that are experienced, realised, and internalised. Her views on the world are expressed as a joyful affirmation of the trivial, the heterogenous, and the diverse facets of daily life spent in the intimate company of others.