This watercolour painting depicts three fantastical creatures playing trumpets and a violin against a grey background with green leaves and red and green fruit. The creatures have elongated necks and multiple red breasts, and they balance on black ropes hanging from branches. In the 1980s and early 1990s, self-taught artist Gu Dexin produced a series of small-scale surrealistic portrayals of humanoids, frequently in settings that feature fruit and leaves. Gu developed this imaginative world using clay, plastic, and computer animation. In his later practice, in the 1990s and 2000s, he explored ideas of decay and sensuality in visceral ways. Most of his works are untitled or named for the date of their creation, reflecting the artist’s desire to leave interpretation to the viewer. Gu withdrew from art completely in 2009.