The Shadows Remain: Iterative Video Prototyping for AI Content Strategies
My networking strategy for The Shadow Remains is structured across interconnected research layers to support immersive narrative development and intervention testing. The project explores Chinese shadow puppetry as a metaphorical narrative system to critique contemporary livestream entertainment—specifically focusing on performative identity, emotional labour, and personality commodification.
Academic & Speculative Art Networks
To anchor my spatial and speculative design, I aim to connect with researchers from CSM’s Narrative Environments, including Stephanie Sherman, Tricia Austin, Sarah Featherstone, and Xavier Llarch Font. Their expertise in immersive storytelling and audience engagement directly informs my digital spectatorship research. Furthermore, the creative practices of artists like Refik Anadol, Ian Cheng, and Birgitta Hosea provide vital conceptual benchmarks for developing my immersive AIGC narrative installation. I will initiate dialogue through presentation showcases and professional networking platforms to gather feedback on narrative immersion.
Cultural Theory & Field Research Networks
The theoretical framework bridges digital culture and traditional performance. I draw on critical theories by Yuk Hui, Shoshana Zuboff, and Zizi Papacharissi regarding surveillance capitalism and affective publics, structurally paralleling livestreaming with shadow puppetry. Crucially, my network includes existing field research on Douyin and Xiaohongshu group-stream culture. By observing and interacting with creators like Tang Bubai (汤不白) and Yizhi Lulu (一只鹿鹿), I gather primary data on digital personae and beauty-filter optimisation.
Rationale: Forces of Change & Mutual Value
In this network, academic mentors and cultural theorists act as driving forces, pushing the boundaries of my critical enquiry. Conversely, livestream creators and platform algorithms function as complex restraining forces; while they reinforce the commercial ecosystem I critique, they are indispensable primary subjects.
What I bring to the table is a unique, cross-cultural perspective: using a traditional non-heritage medium (shadow puppetry) to deconstruct cutting-edge Western/Eastern digital subcultures. This distinct synthesis provides external collaborators with rare, grassroots insights into China’s livestream labour and new models for immersive, critical speculative design.
This diagram show I used for my networking presentation