Abstractly feminine, the installation works nevertheless possess the same combination of fluid motion and apparent randomness as her other pieces - mostly oil on canvas - on show. The themes are also similar. Pieces include a voluptuous figure with her hands folded across her belly, wearing an expression that's both demure and alluring, on a ground of mustard yellow. Another is in the classic pose of the reclining female, while a third seems to float on a cloud, limbs askew yet with a determined gaze. Closer inspection reveals a tiny figure in a satchel as a central element in each composition.

'That's a little devil inside the body,' says New, pointing to her triptych Mad Noon. 'During that period, I produced a lot of devils. I like the yellow. It was done early in the morning. My friend was pregnant, and I was going through a little baby crisis.

'I'm not a mother, so I was curious about the experience. You can see the lines are uncertain. They're jumpy.

'The frustration of both working and trying to guess what it's like to be a mother made me angry. Yellow is an obsessive colour, kind of mad.'

New named the exhibition Perchance because all the pieces started out as small sketches done on a whim.

'These pieces are the traditional size for practising calligraphy,' she says. 'When I was little, I would sketch everything. Perchance the sketch becomes the work. Maybe it wasn't the original intention, it was just some early morning scribbling. I start by moving my hand. It's a habit of mine. I let my hand take a walk, like taking a dog for a walk. It becomes a shape, then it becomes artwork.'

New's compulsive nature is evident in the way she works. She says she sometimes draws lines over and over until they're perfect.

New (also known as Niu An) has been described as the quintessential Shanghainese girl, which she takes as a compliment. Physically, she embodies the feminine side of Shanghai, with her porcelain skin and petite figure. After studying fine arts at Shanghai University, New studied for an interior design degree in Tokyo, and then worked for a Tokyo-based architectural firm.

'When I was studying, China's doors were just opening up,' she says. 'I saw lots of new things, and each new thing was exciting. I was exposed to graphic design and architecture, as well as fine art, so I went overseas to study some more.

'After studying interior design, I wanted to experience working in the field. A Japanese company was doing a project in Shanghai, and I was involved. I was lucky. At the time, it was hard to get a job. Working in three-dimensions is interesting. There are a lot more elements than just the colours and lighting of two-dimensional work.'

In 2000 she returned to Shanghai full of ideas and inspirations. The exploration of femininity became a prominent theme in her works.

The diptych Rain reads as two sides of the same coin, and includes her signature calligraphic characters and colourful rings. 'I like manipulating words,' she says. 'But I can't put it together with nice grammar, so small sentences appeal to me. And the rings are my personal touches.

'As a Chinese person, rings also mean jade, the kind my grandmother gave to protect me when I was little. The shape is meaningful to me as a woman. I'm attracted to the hole. Of course, others will talk about the sexual connotation, which is true to some extent. But it has to do more with the continuity of life.'

New says she consciously excluded any hint of masculinity from these works. 'It's all about the process of being a woman. Maybe it has to do with my age and where I am in life,' says New, who's in her 40s. 'I was questioning what was the ideal woman, what does it mean to be a woman, and could I still be a beautiful woman without having children.'

Perchance, Sin Sin Fine Art, G/F, 1 Prince's Terrace, Mid-Levels. Inquiries: 2858 5072. Ends Sept 23