MIRROR MIRROR 798
PURPOSE
BA Final Year Project
Location
Beijing, China
YEAR
11/2020 - 05/2021
Outcome 01
Film
<Filter Street Event>
Outcome 03
Poster
<Posters and a tour in 798>
"Mirror Mirror 798" is my BA graduation project.
It is an in-depth, interdisciplinary study of the 798
Art District and Dashanzi neighbourhoods. I hope
to use the way of design to bring the history of the
798 factory back to the art district, thus allowing
us to reflect on ourselves today.
Process
Old photos collection
Photography
Interview
Collages
Readings
Experiments
Filter
Outcome 02
<Filter collage>
<Intro Film Mirror Mirror 798>
The second form I made was a Tiktok filter. Compared to videos, filters are more interactive and allow the user to understands it on their own. As a medium, the filter is effective in connecting with young people and visually enhances reality. The format maximizes the period and the story, allowing the audience to move from being "spectators" to "participants," "performers," and ultimately "reflectors" in the process of participation.
The retired workers told me that they had to wear the uniform in the factory in those days. So based on the stories and the state of dress in the old photos, I made a male and a female version filter, including hats and make-up. Then I uploaded it to my phone using the Tiktok filters platform.
I used my filter work to run a street event. This activity also took place in the Dashanzi community, where we will photograph retired workers with the same filter to complete the time and space overlapping effect.
My first work is a video. The choice of film as my medium is inspired by a project called “HX” by Cao Fei. “HX” is an in-depth, interdisciplinary study of the Jiuxianqiao and Dashanzi neighbourhoods surrounding the Hongxia Theatre. One of its outcomes is a science fiction film named NOVA playing in the old theatre room with the actual beach in the front roll. As video is also a form familiar to both eras, this setup gives me a deep feeling of time overlapping. So I was curious how it would be if I edited the scenes of the current 798 Art Zone in the style of a revolutionary-era video and put it on an old TV. In this way, I hope that young generations can feel the similarities between the two eras more clearly. Perhaps many years later, we will be the people in the video analyzed by future generations. This editing gives the film a strong sense of irony and serves as an output of opinion.
<Screenshot of "The New Era of 798", please watch the intro film above>
The last part of my work was a set of posters, and I wanted to experiment with how graphic design would solve the problem. I drew up some sketches and logo designs to make them fit the theme. For the material, I chose to use transparent film printing. I wanted the transparent material to interact with the background and the environment in which it is located. The hidden factory is like a spatial cut-off, a reminder of the past.
I have made two versions, one original and one with the background image reduced to 29% transparency. Seventy-one years have passed since the factory was built in 1950, so how light is the 29% that remains? It has become almost invisible, just like people's memories.