SHADOW PLAY: Tales of Urbanization in China
Shadow Play project explores the new significance of art in the digital age. It raises questions about the relationship between artistic form and narrative as well as the time-honored mediums and digital technologies. Commenced in 2014, the project investigates the urbanization process in China that had been undergoing for decades and became radically accelerated in 2013 when the national leadership unveiled its plan of converting 70 percent of the population to a city-oriented lifestyle by 2025. One may wonder how, and to what extent, the landscape, culture and the daily being of the nation’s people may be altered. As artists, we are compelled to explore and reflect upon the various phases of this historic undertaking.
Through research and fieldwork in China, we collect the ingredients necessary for a complex production that combines traditional artistic expressions such as shadow puppetry motifs with emerging technologies. Weaving three interfaces, namely virtual reality (VR) in cyberspace, augmented reality (AR) on mobile phones and a series of paintings, the project visualizes the metamorphosis brought about by the urbanization and industrialization process. With a retrospective into the past through time-honored imagery and a reflection of the present through immersion in the realities of modern China, we seek to present stories of everyday people to the conscience of a worldwide audience.