A visitor concentrates her attention on the artwork "Sunflower" by Wang Wei.

The artworks "Erupt/Construct" and Yelllow Forklift Trucks created by Mark Revels and Brendan Jamison are put on display at the exhibition.

The 6th annual IRISH WAVE festival is showcasing large-scale artworks from over 20 Irish artists in four cross-cultural exhibitions in Beijing and Shanghai in March.

For the purpose of celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of W.B. Yeats and the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, the exhibitions unite contemporary artists from China with leading practitioners from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The well-received exhibitions will debut in China and then to Northern Ireland and Dublin.

As a tie-in to the "Year of the Ram" in China, the first IRISH WAVE exhibition of 2015, 'Golden Fleece', features a selection of textile artworks inspired by the W.B. Yeats poem 'Sailing to Byzantium'. It was officially opened March 15 in the Inter Art Center in Beijing, by Alan Kelly TD, Irish Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government, accompanied by the Ambassador for Ireland, Paul Kavanagh.

Highlights include a spectacular installation of a porcelain body cast by Mark Revels. Mounted to the gallery wall in a crucifixion pose, it breaks apart with an eruption of colorful woolen virus forms, projecting outwards from the fragmented body and spreading into the exhibition space. The soft virus-like balls are combined with Brendan Jamison's wool sculptures of forklift trucks, animating the gallery floor with vibrant, pure yellow. Meanwhile, artist David Turner utilizes Hama beads to present atomic detonations in a beautiful aesthetic.

On the darker themes of conflict, a Beijing exhibition at the Dong Yue Art Museum is inspired by war poetry and opens Monday March 16 at 6pm. 'A Meditation in Time of War' by Yeats offers inspiration for artists like Ciaran Magill who presents a series of hypnotic watercolors of young soldier. In response to the poems of Wing Tek Lum, Gail Ritchie uses the symbolism of a plum to represent the human form in a sensitive photographic series.

"I am particularly interested in highlighting interconnections between disparate cultures and groups, engaging in conversations which enable people to understand each other better," said Fion Gunn, chief curator and founder of Irish Wave.

"I am delighted to be part of such a high profile international event and pleased that the work will be seen by such a diverse audience at home and abroad. It's a great opportunity for all the artists involved to highlight the quality of contemporary art being produced in Northern Ireland," exhibiting artist Gail Ritchie said.