Born in China, Shen Jiawei is an artist who grew up during the Cultural Revolution. His early paintings have become recognized as invaluable representations of that era. Shen moved to Australia in 1989, where he established himself as a renowned portrait painter. He was commissioned to paint Crown Princess Mary of Denmark for the National Portrait Gallery in 2005, and he was also the winner of the 2006 Sir John Sulman Prize. We featured Shen as part of an article in which six artists from around the world responded to the art of the late Nelson Mandela by creating their own inspired work.