The Awakening
China's Internet censorship has grown tremendously in recent years.
Digital surveillance resembles 1970s Cultural Revolution regulations.
Annual surveillance camera growth is alarming.
Even scarier, the government has been gathering data through mass surveillance on millions of people at once.
Inspiration
Edward Snowden's 2013 revelations exposed the actions of the National Security Agency and created a platform for global media to report on the documents. Under Xi Jinping, China has expanded its surveillance capabilities with 200 million "Skynet" cameras deployed in 2018, which is four times more than the US, and projected to reach 700 million by 2020.
Ideation
To develop more ideas of this project, I conducted brainstorming to explore ideas from all kinds of aspects related to the theme. I listed some of my thoughts here.
I chose the following imagery as design elements for sketching after a brainstorming session.
Sketch
Rendering
I tried to use this cube to symbolize the personal space that is monitored and the constrained freedom of expression; another goal was to make the audience feel more immersed after entering this place.
AR demo
In this project, I explored the power of interaction in Unity to enhance the audience's engagement and comprehension of the work's theme. The goal was to encourage further investigation and critical thinking.
The Poster
Using the human eyes as a key cue, a huge number of body parts are extracted and superimposed using artistic modeling, removing and combining multiple body parts to portray the misery and struggle of people caught under continual surveillance and suppression of free speech.
Seed Planted
In this project, I aim to shed light on the dangers of rampant censorship and inspire people to uphold their fundamental right to free expression. By raising awareness, I hope to encourage proactive defense of this crucial human right.