Gallery Entry

2026

By Chao Li · AT

This work is a static experimental video set against the backdrop of a construction site filmed at night. On the left side of the frame, construction is still underway, while on the right stands a completed building, creating a contrast between different temporal states, as well as between movement and stillness. The tower crane appears motionless to the eye, yet it is actually moving at an extremely slow pace. Similarly, the lights mounted on the structures of the construction site subtly fluctuate in intensity, becoming brighter and dimmer over time. These almost imperceptible changes unfold continuously within what initially appears to be a static image. Watching the work evokes a persistent sense of tension and anticipation, as though something unexpected might suddenly happen or an unforeseen presence might enter the frame. Throughout the video, everything seems to remain still, yet subtle transformations are constantly taking place beneath the surface of this apparent stillness. In contemporary society, the pace of development continues to accelerate. Skyscrapers rise rapidly, pedestrians move with increasingly hurried steps, and the hands of clocks seem to turn ever faster. As the rhythm of everyday life intensifies, we gradually lose sight of many of the beautiful and meaningful things around us. Tensions between the self and others, humanity and objects, people and language, individuals and time, human relationships, humanity and history, and the human and the divine become increasingly pronounced. Like the tower crane, the lights, the buildings, and the shifting relationships between time and space within the frame, everything is constantly moving and changing, even as the image conveys an overwhelming impression of stillness. The construction site is an ordinary scene drawn from everyday reality. Yet the unfinished building can also be understood as a metaphor for human existence. Just as a building is gradually constructed, shaped, and eventually subjected to decay, each of us passes through a process of being brought into existence, growing, and ultimately approaching death. Within the structures of contemporary society, we experience this process in solitude, continually being shaped, influenced, and compelled to adapt to the world around us.

Category

VIDEO

Approved

9 October 2026