CHIH-KAI LU

The word, “hover,” is an aviation term that refers to when an aircraft remains in one place in the air. Each drone is equipped with a stabilization system that controls the thrust force and movement to enable hovering in a stabilized state. On view in Chih-Kai Lu’s solo exhibition, A Little Bird Told Me, are the two artworks, Rolex in the Sky and The Descended Message. Applying the drone ’s unique perspective and the human-machine connection, the artist proposes new interpretive possibilities beyond the drone ’s role as a tech tool for creativity and further reveals memories that are associated with “people,”which stem from everyday life and folk beliefs.

Rolex in the Sky uses images to delve into the relationship between social media, aerial photography, and time, and it shows an older man who’s repairing watches on the street, who seems to be in a state of life that exudes romantic and liberated sentiments, while also undergoing gradual changes. The Descended Message, on the other hand, is inspired by a legend that emerged 67 years ago, which has to do with a spirit writing ritual related to a source of holy spring water in the Shuichutou Harbor of Madou District in Tainan, Taiwan, and it has resulted in the successive emergence of traces and marks that are believed to be evidence of the folk belief. Through exploring everyday people’s experiences and the divine trajectory that is thought to be related to the legend, the artwork probes into the technical context behind the exchange of spiritual information and the iconization of faith.

For this exhibition, the artist begins by linking these two artworks which are created using aerial photography, seeking to examine moments of memory that are reflected by individuals during specific moments in their lives, and he then proceeds to bring together, reorganize, and represent the realistic context in which the images are intertwined in different dimensions.