Born in 1980 in Changsha, China, Gao Lei studied at the digital media department of Central Academy of Fine Arts. In 2011, he had a solo exhibition in Beijing and participated in several group exhibitions locally as well as in Germany and Korea. ‘Rostrum No. 1’ comprises a custom-made metal cabinet that holds 24 photographs which can be viewed through a peephole. The photographs feature computer-generated characters such as young female figures, dinosaurs and aliens that come from the imaginary world of the artist. Placed in scenarios reflecting the current economic reality of China, where construction and building are occurring at a rapid pace, these fictional characters convey the loss of childhood and innocence, as well as the increasing sense of displacement felt by today’s young generation.
