Two Fujian-native sculptors have made their name with quirky animals. Chen Wenling turns amiable lucky pigs into overfed snarling beasts. Chen Zhiguang creates swarms of giant ants, some quite human, writes Wang Jie.Sculptor Chen Wenling's breakthrough came in 2006 at the Shanghai Biennale. He hit the international art world jackpot with a huge pig sculpture featuring a pig-snouted red auto with long red tongue - and at its tip dangle a golden pig and overfed humans.Transforming the amiable pig, Chinese symbol of prosperity, into a gross and vicious beast has become one of Chen's trademarks, a symbol of what materialism is doing to society. Humans, too, are distasteful - some hugely and sleekly fat like the pigs, others gaunt and starved."My life was changed completely (by the success)," says the 38-year-old artist, a bit wistfully, though he can lament all the way to the bank. "I found myself terribly busy, not in working on sculptures, but traveling, taking at least two overseas trips in one month."Today he is fully booked with exhibitions, seminars and other events. He works in Beijing and recently visited Shanghai."I am so exhausted," he says, "but this is how an artist gets international exposure."A 2,000-square-meter studio in Beijing replaces his former 200-square-meter space, and the price of his sculptures reaches a figure that he can still scarcely imagine - some over US$20,000.He works in bronze and paints his sculptures, often shiny, bright red, sometimes neutral flesh tones. The famous pig-auto is an outdoor sculpture with a tongue more than two stories high."Today I can totally identify with the condition of those unknown young artists, because I used to be one of them," he says.Perhaps that's why Chen occasionally purchases some of their artworks, maybe he finds a shadow of himself among them.In fact, Chen's name first became known through his "Red Children" series - Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai was one of the buyers. But it is his "Personate Pig" series that really sent him to the forefront of Chinese contemporary art."In Chinese culture, the pig is the symbol of fortune," Chen explains.But the traditional mild piggy becomes bloated, ferocious and irascible in Chen's art pieces - he says the transformation is a result of the materialistic society."Survival only comes from extremes," says Chen. "I want to challenge the extremes both in work and life."These pigs are one of his "extremes." They often appear in a maniac state, expressing extreme happiness or anger. His pigs are dangerous."Can you believe that I was almost stabbed to death in a robbery a decade ago?" Chen suddenly switches the topic. "I lost so much blood, but finally I crawled a long way for help, and I was saved."The particular experience might be one reason for the harsh darkness reflected in his pigs and human sculpture, but harsh, crass reality is another."I come from a peasant family, so I have a wild personality," he adds. "I am against any egalitarianism or mediocrity in art."Although Chen says he could "sit well" on his pig sculpture series for another couple of years, he has started a series titled "Chinese Landscapes.""I treasure my creativity," he says. "I don't want to waste it in repetition."