Orbit Tales
A transformation process that results in a renewal of past memories and a formation of new cognition towards space.
Project overview
Orbit Tales aims to encapsulate my personal experiences and to invite viewers to shape their own perceptions through my visual and conceptual manifestations. It is a prism that invites viewers to perceive the beauty and enchantment through my eyes, and then ultimately stimulates their distinctive encounters, associations, and conjectures.
Duration
13 months (September 2022
— October 2023)
Tools
Figma, Adobe Photoshop, Procreate, Adobe Premiere
My role
Concept Development, Digital Illustration, Visual Design, Video and Audio Production
My story
Grounded by expressing my emotions through the physical realm, I explore the possibilities of architectural structures by fusing both conventional topographical scenes of buildings and ideal reconstructions through vibrant colors and multiple perspectives. Evolving around the themes of “journey”, “memory” and “experience”, I wish my work can function as a threshold that transverses the audience in another space and time —
Can architecture be ephemeral and dreamy?
The Process
Concept
Context
In my fine arts undergraduate studies, I was greatly encouraged to convey emotions through visual representation - real, surreal, dynamic, bold...... After years of artistic exploration and contemplation, I have found that, instead of wrestling with abstract and profound concepts, I root my emotional expression in the physical realm. I aim to discover a grounded art form that reflect and express my true self.
Exploration
I engaged in divergent thinking to delve into my own self.
Through introspection, I have woven the link between my being and inner tides into emotional threads: "journey," "time," "space," "walking," and "image".
Idea Integretation
Expression
By defining these vital concepts, I have found their shared, interconnected, and overlapping nature. Thus, I string them together: Walking on a journey, I compose images of memories and experiences, sensing time and space.
In terms of expression, I seek to make it grounded:
"journey" and "walking"
(memories and experiences)
visualize
travel and living experiences
"image"
concretize
photographs and illustrations
"time" and "space"
alter
structures and colors
Ideation
Having delved within, integrated thoughts, and formed initial expressions, I started to further plan the concrete presentation and execution.
Brain Storm
voice
text
content
projection
interaction
journey
color
perception
weather
expression
time
memory
music
scent
poem
feeling
dream
space
location
seasons
day
night
overhearing
embrace yourself
Through brainstorming, I have decided to:
1
Create digital illustrations based on the cityscape photographs I took from my traveling/living experience, with structure and color adaptations for a sense of time and space.
2
Combine sounds as a part of unique experience.
3
Create an immersive space for the audience to interact with changing cityscapes, shaping their perception of space and time.
Structure - realistic abstraction
I started to sketch from my firsthand cityscape photographs in my “journeys”, and attempted to add geometric elements for a more graphic and personal touch. My aim is to build a cityscape that exists within the real world yet intermingles illusion.
Color - countless possibilities
Inspired by color theory and layering effects, I began to work on different color combinations, thinking about how they can create the illusion of space and a sense of depth.
Josef Albers-color theory
Josef Albers stats that color can transform based on its interactions and positioning with different hues.
As shown, tne light blue shade appears differently against dark blue and light green backgrounds.
Color layering
Changing transparency and layering can create numerous colors beyond primaries.
As shown, with only five colors of varied transparency layered, there comes out over 20 hues blending seamlessly.
Content
During the journeys, beyond sights, there are unique sounds – conversations, voices – at specific times and places. I have captured these dialogues from diverse scenes through texts.
Delivery
I believe that a similar space layout can convey different meanings for different visitors at different times. My intention is both to encapsulate my personal experiences and to invite viewers to shape their own perceptions through my visual and conceptual manifestations.
Dreamlike context, structure reconfiguration, and color manipulation, make these existing cities become memories, imaginations, and entities in another dimension.
I envision them as colorful celestial bodies, and people's perceptions as a vast universe.
Instead of signifying the specific sites, I decided to entitle the planets based on dates - they signify personal, mysterious memories and experiences.
I designed a space capsule for audiences to different planets in my memory.
Audience's actions happening inside, with a transparent top for viewing.
Various angles of the space capsule.
A joystick and a screen for navigation.
Headphones for unique sounds when approaching.
Storyboard of the experience
Start the journey
Entering into the capsule.
Navigate in the space
Moving with the joystick and screen, while looking at the projected planets through the transparent top.
Receive sounds
Hearing unique sounds of planets when approaching, representing for different places
Pick a planet
Using sound as an entry point and choosing the most intriguing one to land for a more immersive experience.
Immerse in the cityscape
Landing on the planet and immersing in the corresponding cityscape with changing colors.
Upload personal experience
After experiencing the desired cityscapes, uploading own experience in the form of photos. The system will convert them into unique planets using my illustration style.
Audio of the unique sounds
I merged distinct sounds and dialogues from each location to serve as scene entrances and enhance the scene's uniqueness.
Video diagram of the process
Immersive Space Illustrations
I sketched cityscapes from my own travel photos, transformed them into reshaped digital illustrations, and applied multiple colored layers alterable to play with. This transformation process aims to both renew past memories and form new cognition towards space.
March 29, 2022
It is a memoir of my unique experience in Bruges, when I ascended a tower and saw the full view of the town. It was a sunny and vibrant afternoon, the houses of the town were bathed in the radiant sunlight and shown with various red hues. It suddenly occurred to me that I had seen a very similar scene a decade ago in Prague’s Old Town Square. At that moment, I felt a mixture of nostalgia and immediate joy.
2000 ——
It portrays the city of Suzhou, my hometown in China. The subdued color scheme corresponds to my impression of my hometown Suzhou - an elegant, beautiful, gentle and soft water town. I intentionally employ black to emulate the distinctive texture found in traditional Chinese ink paintings and use the organic texture of woodcuts to associate with woodcut craftsmanship in Suzhou. This deepens the personal bond I share with both my art and my beloved hometown.
December 15, 2022
This series depict the Boca neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As I passed myself through the street, I discovered intricate details that are often concealed from a distant vantage point. The presence of potted plants on windowsills, weathered posters, and fluttering flags seamlessly merged with vibrant hues, conveying a narrative of a locale that exudes an unrefined yet fervent ambiance.
February 10, 2022
It presents the cityscape of Cusco, and depicts the Airbnb where my friends and I lived atop the Cusco hills. It was a vivid time immersed in the vibrant sunlight of South America. The reference photograph for this artwork was taken at noon when the high altitude intensifies sunlight.
