Shot in the Beijing home of fellow artist Qiu Zhijie, Fly, Fly by Jiang Zhi is a five-minute black-and-white video depicting the reality of an artist’s life. Like many young artists, Jiang Zhi was full of dreams and ideals when he arrived in Beijing from his hometown of Yuanjiang, but he soon found himself in a precarious financial position and lived alone in a cramped apartment. The hand that ‘flies’ through the interior space and over the piles of household objects in the background conveys lightness and grace, a sensibility accentuated by the lack of colour. The oppressive loneliness of this life seems to define Fly, Fly as Jiang Zhi evokes overwhelming solitude, silence, fantasy, weariness, and passion. The work expresses a desire to break free as well as doubt about whether it is truly possible to escape gravity and the confines of reality.