Generated Memories

About the series
Memory is not an objective record of reality, but a subjective and selective process. Memories reshape and reconciliate over time.
This is a memory exploration experiment conducted by Li using various technology including Lidar scanning, point cloud, particle simulation, projection mapping, machine learning and VR. Images, audio recordings, 3D scans were curated and fed to the machine to generate immersive experiences of memories.
Generated Memories – Chang Sha Wan (2022)
As a collaborative work with researchers and architects from Chinese University of Hong Kong, this work is exhibited at UABB 2022 as part of Recurrent’s 'Volumetric Cinema’.
After having a field trip guided by Provides Ng from CURRENT introducing the history of public housing estate buildings in Chang Sha Wan, Li uses Lidar scan and point cloud technology to preserve a part of an old building which is about to be torn down with his teammate Habibi Wang. The scene is designed by Li and built in Unreal Engine 5, which is a real-time 3D rendering engine that can be accessed through VR.
Li believes old building/urban space is part of people’s collective memory. For people who don’t really live in that specific time and space, they can only know these history from archive photos or hearing the stories told by elder people. In this project, he manages to transform collective memories of residents of Chang Sha Wan into an immersive experience in VR for the audience to feel what it is like to be present in that specific time and space.