"Modernological Urbanscape" is an animated video work created in collaboration with acclaimed novelist Lin Xinhui. Developed from her post-apocalyptic short story published in United Literature Magazine's "Post-Apocalyptic Safe Communication" issue, the animation explores the emotional awakening of a soon-to-be-decommissioned synthetic being.
Set in a world where ecological collapse has forced humanity into virtual existence, the narrative follows an "entity body"—an artificial character designed for players' use in a simulated environment. Programmed to be repeatedly damaged and regenerated without emotional consequence, this entity unexpectedly develops genuine feelings through an encounter with a user named K, who treats her with unprecedented tenderness.
The work examines the threshold between programmed responses and authentic emotion, interrogating how artificial consciousness might process emotional experiences beyond its designated parameters. As the protagonist faces her impending obsolescence, she navigates memories that may be real or implanted, questioning her own existence and the possibility of connection across the real/virtual divide.
Through meticulous animation techniques, the piece visualizes the fractured subjectivity of a digital being experiencing emotions her system was never designed to process, creating a poignant meditation on consciousness, virtual embodiment, and the persistence of connection in post-human landscapes.
Modernological Urbanscape (2019)
Animation Video
11 mins
CHRONIQUES Biennale of Digital Imagination
Friche la Belle de Mai , France