I am a lone monk walking the world with a leaky umbrella

Shadow puppet theatre is the oldest form of projected moving images. Over the centuries, it has spread from its origins in China throughout Asia. The semi-transparent leather figures are usually moved behind a thin screen, creating a silhouette shadow which also contains colour. But in China’s rapidly modernising climate, audiences and apprentices of this ancient folk art are disappearing at an alarming rate. In an age when moving images are nothing special and everyone has at least one screen permanently within reach, artist Serge Onnen travelled to China to research the art form and produce a series of shadow puppets with Chinese craftsmen, inspired by current global events.