Wickedly irreverent, Lu Yang’s punchy practice gives everything from cancer cells to sanitary pads, a cutesy, if gaudy, makeover.

She makes even the most taboo topics absurdly appealing—think Japanese manga-inspired aesthetics, video games, and lurid animated emojis. Lu Yang studied under Chinese video and new media art pioneer Zhang Peili at the China Academy of Fine Arts, before going on to participate in the Chinese Pavilion at the 2015 Venice Biennale.

Telling of her interests in neuroscience, biology, and sci-fi is her recent work Delusional Mandala, a video installation featuring the artist’s own avatar using a stereotactic system to investigate the neurological symptoms of dying.