A contemporary visual adaptation based on Zhiguai Ghost Tales
This practice-based research engages with the literary and cultural tradition of Zhiguai (Chinese strange tales), reimagining supernatural figures from classical Chinese horror through contemporary mixed media storytelling. The study focuses on the 18th-century narrative The Painted Skin and explores themes of disguise, haunting, and illusion. By integrating traditional narrative structures with projection mapping, visual effects, and spatial design, it investigates the embodiment and reinterpretation of horror, identity, and cultural memory within mixed media environments.
The installation is set in a fictional study room, imagined as a liminal space between the visible and invisible. Within this space, projected imagery, material surfaces, and interactive components form a layered sensory archive. As visuals shift and the spatial atmosphere responds, the work reveals tensions between surface appearances and inner realities. The ghost appears not merely as a source of fear but as a manifestation of repressed desire and emotional displacement. Through bodily and perceptual engagement, viewers are drawn into a journey that oscillates between calm and unease, illusion and reality. The project reflects on design’s potential to give form to the intangible dimensions of cultural and emotional experience.
