An extension of onomatopoeia and synesthesia, "To Be or Not to Be", examines the role, the symbol and the vested power of weaponry. A replica of the AK-47, yet with a plastic stock in place of a wooden one, the Type 56 rifle was an innovation which surpassed the design and engineering of the legendary original and was to become the model in the most prolific use in the world during its day. The artwork shows neon casings jettisoned from the mechanism, the chamber is silent and there exist no trails of smoke while the neon tubes converge to form the outline of a fully activated weapon of death. Silence replaces the combustive noise of firing, transforming the experiential, and kinesis by stasis, save for the active circulation of neon within the brightly colored tubes. The title bequeaths an existential and obvious reference to the role of the original subject: why has it come to exist? Liu Dao investigates the weapon, its origins, role and effectively, existence as a tool of damage or of harm. Regardless of imperatives, the lethality of the advanced machine gun is rendered neutral, castrated in its' evolution as a symbol within an artistic dichotomy of representation and implied meaning. Throughout history, weaponry of all diversity and manner have been proudly suspended in residences as well as public spaces to proclaim the strength of individuals or societies militaristic prowess. Here, Liu Dao adorns the space with a replica of a machine designed for killing, for the taking of life, a replica which delivers neither bullet, sound yet depicts emptied shells falling away from the inactive, immobile object. "To Be or Not to Be" is an artistic creation which deviates on both visual and interpretative scales, and one which resounds with a humorous larceny of the existence of a questionable object rendered impotent with the subversion of its role as an symbol of aggression to that of artistic reinterpretation. [Rajath Suri]