Bases in Kaohsiung, Hsiao Sheng-Chien's works are often constructed out of industrial components and common gadgets. He is also noted for employing autonomous mechanic movements to compose the whole installation. Those mechanic movements are created by using motors, gear wheels or computer chips. By means of these movements, his works are able to generate special aesthetic experience for viewers. At the first glance, Hsiao's works reminder us of Kinetic art in terms of the mechanic movements. Nonetheless, there is something more in his works than just motions and optic alterations that characterize Kinetic art.
Kinetic art or kinetic sculpture in general, is an art form using natural power or electricity as the source of movements, or, by the operation of viewers to achieve the activities that fashion certain artistic values. In the discourse of the Euro-American art history, Kinetic art has been in relation to the concept of industrialization and modernism in the twentieth century. The mechanic and sometimes autonomous movements create fascinating images of motion and speed, which has symbolized modernity and progression in that era. Hsiao's works, however, have developed a different context at aesthetic level. The major difference lays in the emphasis on metaphors of materials and the projection of certain narrative and sentiment.
