This exhibition of the artist James McNulty was organized by the Chinese Culture Center with the purpose of reevaluating the history of the gunpowder, a Chinese invention, which this artist explores in his collages made with the wrappings of the Chinese fireworks. Between scholars, there is a divergence of opinion concerning the place of discovery of the gunpowder. However, when it was exactly discovered is still unknown.
Most scholars agree that gunpowder was probably first discovered in China in ancient times.
And that according to Chinese belief, the loud explosion it created, was perfect for frightening off spirits, celebrating weddings, battle victories, and eclipses of the moon. But the Chinese did not use gunpowder as a propellant, or in other words, for cannons at the early stage of discovery. This adaptation of gunpowder into rocketry was reintroduced right away in China probably sometime in the fifteenth century. James McNulty, a self-taught artist from Nevada, stands nowadays as a prominent figure of the almost unknown fireworks or firecracker art. He has chosen the form of the collage in order to emulate the fireworks experience, but instead of using traditional materials such as newspaper pieces or scrap paper, he has preferred the use of firecracker wrappers.