Type ‘Jacky Tsai’ into Google and you’ll find page after page about the artist – but no amount of information on a screen can give an accurate impression of his work itself. It’s so intricate and technical that when I visit the London gallery Scream to see Tsai’s solo show Eastern Orbit, I find myself leaning in to peer at each piece from millimetres away. Using traditional Chinese lacquer carving, embroidery, cloisonné and hand-painted porcelain, the work is highly detailed and expertly produced.

Tsai designs these pieces, but doesn’t make them himself – that part of the process is handled by his team of craftsmen back in China. ‘I could do it but I’d never achieve that high level,’ he explains. ‘All the lacquer carvings are made by old masters. They train their whole lives to make beautiful art – I could only find four or five people in China who were able to deliver that quality.’

Tsai was born in Shanghai and started his art education with a BA at the China Academy of Art, but came to London in 2006 to study at Central Saint Martins. His work is a celebration of the two parts of himself: his Chinese upbringing, and his life in London, where he has developed his voice as a successful artist. He brings together ancient skills with pop-art inspired imagery: ‘All my art is about the fusion between eastern culture and western culture,’ he says. ‘I want to bring them together – sometimes in conflict, and sometimes in harmony. It reflects the culture shock I have experienced in my life.’

While at St Martins, he did a placement at Alexander McQueen, where he famously drew a skull made of flowers. 'I was lucky. Someone else had failed to produce the floral skull, and I came in and they thought "Let's give this guy a chance,"' he remembers. 'The next year when they released it on a T-shirt, everyone just loved it. That’s probably part of the reason I decided to be an artist.'

Tsai describes art as his 'biggest passion', and is clearly highly creative. But he has a head for business, and talks openly about his desire to sustain a commercially successful career. Alongside his artwork, he has his own fashion line – a collection of illustrated T-shirts sold at Harvey Nichols in the UK and Hong Kong. He also plans to keep producing affordable screen-printed work alongside the more expensive techniques, because his screen prints sell well internationally.

Above all though, he's determined to keep moving forward, without ever becoming predictable. When I start to wrap up the interview, he stops me. 'There's one more thing I would like to say,' he says. 'I never keep techniques for a long time. I will always want to change and change, so my next show is going to be something different. I will bring in something you'll never expect.'

Eastern Orbit by Jacky Tsai is at Scream London until 20 June.

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