In The Engineers, Cole Lu challenges the idea of engineers as the architects of humanity and explores the origins of our social hierarchy. Conceived as a site-specific installation at the Museum and Library of Wat Bowonniwet Vihara Rajavaravihara, the work features two large-scale, free-standing entries that echo the space’s original architecture. These arched gateways are crafted and burned from Neem wood (Sao Dao) and linen, acting as portals and evoking an infinite cycle of birth and death. Using fire to mark his gestures, Lu further investigates the roots of storytelling through his research into historical texts, religious scriptures, mythologies, and ancient artifacts, engaging our understanding of time travel, history, memory, and home.

Cole Lu is an artist and writer who uses fire as a physical and philosophical approach to weave between historical, literary, and personal narratives. Across burnt wood panels, linen, engraved metal, and concrete, his visual landscapes revisit the discovery of fire, the birth of civilization and hierarchies, and prehistoric thought. Inspired by sources ranging from ancient cave markings and Greek mythology to twentieth-century art, literature, and popular sci-fi cinema, Lu reimagines existing narratives through his own lived experiences. Recent solo exhibitions include The Temple of Sleep (Chapter NY, 2022), Millennium Approaches (Nir Altman, 2022), Amnesia (Herald St, 2024), and Stoicheion (ICA Maine, 2024). His publication Smells Like Content (Endless Editions, 2015) belongs to the collection of The Museum of Modern Art Library.