Chang Jin Lee's "Flying Echo" installation made its first appearance in Pittsburgh on June 7 at the Three Rivers Arts Festival. Unlike the exhibitions at Busan's Songdo Beach or New York's Socrates Park, Pittsburgh's festival didn't float the ten-foot transparent Buddha in front of its city, but rather in a stream under a bridge. While trafficked by thousands of people each day of the festival, the position isn't nearly as striking and doesn't quite fulfill the artist's statement:
Through the statue one can see the nature, landscape and architecture around the water. Its subtle presence embraces and reflects the surroundings, both natural and man-made. It is seeming present and absent at the same time.
The 2013 Three Rivers Arts Festival runs through June 16, and "Floating Echo" can be found in the Reflecting Pool under the Portal Bridge.