Xinyue Li

An immersive experience with light installations and moving images, to open up conversations around depression in a poetic way, and raise the awareness of the unseen stories about depression that could resonate with the public and the people experiencing it.

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Description

Grown up in a typical Chinese family with deep-rooted Asian cultural background, I learned first-hand how stigmatized mental health issues are there. Usually, these problems are perceived in a very black and white way with nothing in between: either you are only all good, or a psychopath; the same applies to if you are depressed, people would assume you should cry and think about suicide all day, if not, then you are just being melodramatic.
People are afraid or ashamed to talk about it, then the bias and stigmas grow bigger and intenser — the lack of understanding is catalyzing the vicious cycle towards depression.
Personally, after having witnessed and even to some degree experienced a lot of negative things started from these stigmas, I began to think about using art as the language to resonate with people, both the public and the patients, as well as raise awareness towards this social issue.
So in this project, I’m building an immersive experience with interactive light installations and moving images, trying to recreate the experience some parts of the life of being depressed: their visions and perceptions, the invisible barriers in social life, the sense of isolation and incapability… By showcasing these different aspects with pleasing aesthetics, I wish I could poetically open up conversations around this topic.

Classes

Thesis Part 2: Production