Stepping Out of The Shadows
The sounds of gongs and drums fade into the background as figurines made from animal skins suddenly come to life behind a screen, spinning and jumping, telling children’s stories or grown-up tales of love and hate; call it a movie projection avant la lettre. The audience is enthralled and everything around them is immersed in this ancient art of shadow.
Two thousand years ago, the sadness of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-A.D. 25) over the death of his favorite concubine was somewhat alleviated by the projection of her figure through a game of lights.
