Wu’s two videos deal with the inevitability of sorrow and separation featuring young men and women. The flamboyant and kitsch appearances of the ghostly figures in Wu’s works are disguises of charm to confide in the past pains that cannot be shouldered by the individual or the entire nation. He also triggers a sense of nostalgia by combining theatrical effects with magical tricks, handcrafted props and machine-operated scenery, to confront the high-tech trend. Wu deliberately tapped into the gaudy aesthetics of local plebeian cultures to dig out the unseen ugly truth and scent of death lingering at the bottom society and throughout its immigration history – traumatic experiences that will continue to haunt Taiwan for years to come.
