#Casting

An audition is a so-called showcase of talent that in reality serves as a cruel filtration machine weighing anxiety against hope. Contestants seek to shine, only to hurl their self-esteem into the void of the judges' deadpan expressions. A fleeting moment on stage feels eternal, masking innumerable hidden failures. Victors bask in the spotlight of praise, while the defeated vanish backstage like ghosts. In this arena, dreams often are ceremonies of disillusionment.

Casting is the ritual of arranging actors on stage or screen. It is a ceremony where the producer’s hopes clash with the audience’s inevitable disappointments. Unknown novices vanish under the guise of “fresh talent,” while established stars are summoned in the name of “familiar comfort.” Perfect casting remains an illusion, and by the time critics’ barbs dampen the mood, the curtain has already fallen.

Lost wax is an ancient ritual in which a perishable wax model is sacrificed just once to capture the immortal shape of metal. The artisan’s perfectionism is reckoned alongside the wax’s fleetingness, and every intricate detail is purified by the furnace’s fury. The pure prototype reveals its “true form” only through the violence of dissolution. The result is cold and hard, but shadows the sorrow of wax melting away. This miracle bridging dream and reality is, at its core, a paradox of creation built upon countless sacrifices.