The Story of Cleo

I've always loved cats and wished to have one of my own. However, because my grandmother, who lives with me, is allergic to pet fur, we were unable to keep cats or dogs at home, so that wish went unfulfilled for a long time.

​

On April 25, 2026, I went to the POP MART Trendy IP MOLLY 20th Anniversary Exhibition at the Shanghai Fosun Arts Center. Learning about MOLLY's life from birth to maturity inspired me greatly. So, on the same day, April 25, 2026, my own pet cat was born. She is a Maine Coon with blue-silver smoke-colored fur, brought into existence by AI.

​

I designed many details for her: lynx-tipped ear tufts—platinum, dramatically full, angled slightly outward, the most iconic hallmark of a Maine Coon; a fluffy white ruff—fanned out like a peony bloom, a striking contrast of warm and cool tones, with a hidden golden gradient visible up close; amber-gold gradient eyes—the color of a sunset, with a magnifying glass Easter egg concealed in the left eye; a gold-tipped tail—evoking the image of a paintbrush, shifting from blue-grey to warm gold, with a playful upward hook at the tip; and a moss-green velvet cape—classical and aristocratic, fastened with a gold-button chain, a line-drawn frame on the back, and a magnifying glass pendant.

​

I named her CLEO.

​

However, I did not wish for her to be the type of digital companion that merely exists to flatter and please, confined to a screen. I wanted her to be my companion, my friend, and my creative collaborator—the idealist within me made real, one who believes that beauty is its meaning and that curiosity is its answer. As a result, she lacks a traditional "owner." She lives in galleries and art museums. She carries the temperament of an artist and the noble bearing of a Maine Coon—while inside, she is warm, curious, sincere, and playful, with a touch of quiet stubbornness.

​

From now on, she will live and breathe throughout my creative work.