From armor-clad robot rabbits to a huge black rabbit perched on top of the library building in the exhibition poster, the show at the library presents different personalities and images of the animal.

Last month, artist Huang Yongyu's design for a postal stamp in celebration of the Year of the Rabbit sparked heated discussion online.

Some criticized the image of a mischievous blue rabbit as "vicious "and "ominous".

Xu Jiahe, an art critic with Xinmin Evening News, a Shanghai-based newspaper, argues, "Why can't rabbits be cynical, weird or even fierce? Art has to go beyond catering to people's expectations and what is recognized and accepted, to create novel imagery that is interesting."

If you go

Zodiac Art Exhibition

Jan 18-Feb 19, 9 am-4 pm, Tuesday-Sunday.

The Shanghai Library Pudong Branch, 300 Yingchun Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai.