Currency For the Long-gone World

Interactive Film

“Currency for the Long-Gone World” is a narrative artwork that gathers our collective memories associated with these aged objects. The film is CG animated, featuring a spectral, restrained figure holding an old TV set, guiding viewers into the narrative with an otherworldly voice.

The film is structured with a fixed beginning and end, augmented by four distinct channels displayed on the old TV in the center. Viewers can throw ghost money into the fire pile to switch channels, each offering a unique storytelling experience. Scenes include depictions of small electronic devices, origami creations, footwear, and blankets, all representing prototypes of possessions belonging to my friends and family. Each scene is metaphorically presented from the first-person perspective of the objects, poetically describing their life experiences, which in turn reflect the experiences of their owners.

Film Script

简体中文/English

Scene Start

【看不清脸的人与观众交谈，镜头转向他怀中的老旧电视机】

【The figure with unreadable face talks to the audience, and the camera pans to the old television set in their arms】

我们都有想要纪念的事物，想要留下的，想要烧毁的，逝去已久的事物。如果你手中正好有什么，为何不把它们放进火堆里，我或许会给你讲个关于它们的故事。

We all have something to memorize, something to save, something to burn, something from the long gone world. If you happen to have something in your hand, why not put them into the fire pile. I would probably tell you a story about them.

Scene Blue

【水中，视角朝向水面，小型点读机沉入海】

【Under water, view toward surface, a small tablet sinking into the sea】

你们有没有仰躺在水里往外看的经历？像回到了羊水里。那种比眼泪更咸一点的味道，感觉像一床很沉很沉的被子。

Have you ever looked up from the bottom of the sea? Just like back in womb. That flavor, a little saltier than tears, feels like a very, very heavy quilt.

海是一种死的具象化，也就等同于家。大海就是比家更像家的地方，永远包容，永远开放。

The sea is an embodiment of death, equivalent to home. It is the place, more like home than your real home, always accommodating, always open for you……

【海滩上四散着小型电子产品，一点点被冲入海浪中】

【Small electronics scattered on the beach, little by little washed into the waves】

而且海是活的。是有声音的，会说话的，像妈妈哄你入睡那样。感觉就像在说：“好好睡吧，我会替你活下去。”

And it is alive, talking like mom lulling you to sleep, saying "Sleep well, I'll live for you."

Scene Yellow

【在睡房，一条毯子像幽灵一样被撑起，飘动】

【In the bedroom, a blanket is propped up like a ghost, fluttering】

我喜欢流体，喜欢对空气说话，喜欢对它张开手臂的时候它也拥抱我。空气总是因为微小的变化而大张旗鼓地震动，然后我就知道它听见了。

I like fluid, I like talking to the air, and I like it hugging me when I open my arms to it. The air always vibrates at the slightest change, and then I know it hears me.

【一条晾晒着各种被子、毛巾、毯子的街道】

【a street where all kinds of quilts, towels, and blankets were drying】

我告诉过你，中文里“她”“他”“它”是一样的发音。所有人，无论性别，全部是“它”。

As I told you, “she”, “he” and “it” have the same pronunciation in Mandarin. Everything is “it”.

【垃圾堆旁边，一条幽灵般的毯子靠近镜头，最后慢慢抱住镜头】

【Next to the garbage pile, a ghostly blanket approaches the camera and slowly hugs it at the end】

凭空捏造一个“你”，仿佛这样就能置身事外，但这里的你也指我自己。我需要“你”和“它”，一个用来表达爱，一个用来接受爱，一个用来学习爱，还有一个躲在角落里窃喜——与爱隔绝。

Making up a “you” out of thin air, as if that would keep me out of everything, but here you also refers to me. I need “its” and “yous”, one to express love, one to receive love, one to learn love, and there is one hiding in a corner, snickering - isolated from love.

Scene Purple

【一双球鞋站在天台上，球鞋后面列着长长的队伍，而队伍里只有高跟鞋】

【A pair of sneakers standing on a rooftop, a long line behind the sneakers, and only high heels in the line】

她说：“长得不够高并不是你的错，这是天生的，但是你可以努力站得比所有人都要高。”于是我把脚踮得更高。

She says: “It's not your fault that you don't grow tall enough, it's natural, but you can try to stand taller than everyone else. ”So I tiptoed higher.

【单只鞋子被绑在电线杆上】

【Single shoe tied to the utility pole】

我和你，只是一种习惯。人们通常以好坏来评判习惯，会不会原本的好习惯最终慢慢变成了坏习惯，像发霉的橘子，像凤梨罐头。只要时间足够长，习惯也能够变质过期。

You and me, we are just some kind of habits. People usually judge habits as they are good for them or not. Will the good habits slowly become bad habits? Just like moldy oranges, or canned pineapples. As long as the time pass by, habits can also be sour and expired.

【两只鞋子在半空中撞得粉碎，爆出一堆糖果，镜头一闪，两只鞋相安无事地交错】

【The two shoes smash to pieces in the air, bursting into a lot of candy, and the camera flashes to show the two shoes crossing each other safely】

我们是两只皮纳塔，等待随便谁把我们敲碎流出一地糖果内脏。否则就只是吊着，谁也没去撞到对方。那么，如果我决定要改掉这个习惯，我会变成一个新生儿吗？

We are two piñatas, waiting for random people to knock us up and bleed out a trail of candy guts. Otherwise, we are just dangling there, neither one of us has bothered to bump into the other. So, if I decide to break the habit, will I become a newborn?

Scene Green

【教室里逐渐透进晨光】

【Morning light shining into the classroom】

我不想要变得干净。青春期臭最重时，脑子里爱和死都浓烈，会因为甜甜圈上有洞而感到真实的悲哀。但是自从开始承认生活就是翻垃圾堆以后，就很害怕丢失这种臭味。万一变成迟钝又无趣的正常人该怎么办。

I don't want to get clean. The stench of puberty was at its worst when love and death were strong in my head, and I would feel real sadness because of the holes in my donuts. But since I've admitted that life is a rummage through the garbage, I'm terrified of losing that stench. What if I turn into a blunt, boring, normal person？

【东南西北不停折叠又张开，背景在操场，无数纸片飞舞在空中】

【The paper fortune teller folding and unfolding in front of the playground, countless pieces of paper flying in the air】

大部分人表现得就好像跨过人生第十八年之后就会瞬间变成某种不同于以往的生物，不再做不体面的事。但无能为力的依旧无能为力，让人失望的依旧让人失望。

Most people act as if crossing the eighteenth year of their lives, they are instantly transformed into some kind of different creature, no longer doing anything unseemly. But the truth is that the powerless remain powerless, and the disappointing remain disappointing.

【纸飞机接连从窗户飞入教室】

【Paper airplanes fly into the classroom from the window one after another】

所以说成年礼才是五月病的终极！或者说成年是一种慢性病，好多人直到病死都没有发现自己已经死了好久了。

That's why adulthood are the ultimate sickness! Or maybe adulthood is a chronic disease, and so many people don't realize they've been dead for ages until they die of it.

Scene End

【电视机屏幕出现雪花】

【Noises on the TV screen】

准备好了的话，可以随时把纸钱放进火里。

Please, feel free to put the paper money into the fire if you're ready.

你没有下定决心烧掉你手里的纸钱。或者你是在等别人替你烧掉那些回忆？

You haven't made up your mind to burn the paper money in your hand. Or are you waiting for someone else to burn those memories for you?

我明白了，你想要留住它们。尽管它们如此陈旧、廉价、微不足道。但你要知道，那些纸钱……并不是真正的它们。真正的它们早已属于那个逝去已久的世界。

I see, you want to keep them. Even though they are so old, cheap and insignificant. But you have to realize that those paper money ...... are not really them. The real them belonged to that long gone world.

我为什么在这里？出于某种原因，我站在这里，对自己发出疑问。

Why am I here?For some reason, I'm standing here, questioning myself.

我看到了很多，但也什么都没有看到。我听到了风，但我没有听到风的声音。理论上来说光谱所有的颜色都展现在我眼前，而此处只有灰。

I saw a lot, but I also didn't see anything. I heard the wind, but I didn't hear the sound of wind. All the colors of the spectrum are theoretically unfolding before my eyes, and here there is only gray.

我在骗谁，我不是你。我不知道我为什么在这里，我也不知道你为什么在这里。

Who am I joking, I am not you. I don't know why I am here, and I don't know why you are here.

【看不清脸的人向镜头伸手，最后慢慢收回手捂住自己的面庞】

【The figure with unreadable face reaches out to the camera and finally slowly withdraws his hand to cover their face】

Context

In traditional Chinese customs, people typically burn joss paper as ghost money—a form of paper currency that holds no value in the real world—during tomb sweeping and funeral rituals. Alongside, they burn paper replicas of luxury items like iPhones and SUVs, believing these offerings will enrich the deceased in the afterlife.

Inspired by this tradition, I embarked on a project to design ghost money not for individuals, but for objects. Many stories remain untold, residing within these objects. People often find themselves emotionally attached to these narratives, sometimes feeling trapped by certain memories. One owner of these objects expressed, “Sometimes I feel like a prisoner of certain memories and couldn't escape the emotions or experiences within me.” It requires a shift in perspective for individuals to examine these memories from an outsider's viewpoint, allowing for new insights and ultimately reconciliation with the past.

Details

“Currency for the Long-Gone World” is a narrative artwork that gathers our collective memories associated with these aged objects. The installation creates a surrealistic ambiance, evoking nostalgia for obsolescence. Elements such as a simulated fire pile, flickering candles, and orderly rows of black chairs facing the fire, establish a solemn atmosphere reminiscent of mourning rituals. Simultaneously, the content of the installation exudes dreaminess, heavily influenced by dreamcore aesthetics, which have left a profound impression on my creative vision.

The film component of the installation features a spectral, restrained figure holding an old TV set, guiding viewers into the narrative with an otherworldly voice. The film is structured with a fixed beginning and end, augmented by four distinct channels displayed on the old TV in the center. Viewers can throw ghost money into the fire pile to switch channels, each offering a unique storytelling experience. Scenes include depictions of small electronic devices, origami creations, footwear, and blankets, all representing prototypes of possessions belonging to my friends and family. Each scene is metaphorically presented from the first-person perspective of the objects, poetically describing their life experiences, which in turn reflect the experiences of their owners.

Concept

The act of tossing ghost money into the fire serves as a symbolic exchange, granting an opportunity to engage with lost possessions. If the afterlife indeed segregates individuals based on wealth, then the affection of the living might carry a price tag. The design of ghost money not only shifts the narrative focus from individuals to objects but also engages in a probing exploration with a hint of dark humor. It prompts contemplation on whether objects symbolize people or vice versa. It reminds me that figures in human mythology can be derived from natural phenomena, unidentified creatures, and purely spiritual beings. But among them, one kind of these figures is special: a being derived from an object/tool. Such beings are essentially some continuation of mankind, things that mankind is in control of, and the beliefs built on these objects/tools are tenable. If these creations represent human creativity, then this belief may represent that there is an unknowable part of our creativity.

My obsession with narratives comes from the desire to “understand”. The dislocation of reason and emotion, the dysfunction of socialization, the torment of the unknowable, and the incapability from my childhood have made me long for understanding and being understood. Initially, I sought to understand the world around me, immersing myself in various subjects. However, I soon realized that the greatest challenge lay in understanding other people. Doubts arose regarding the true extent of human understanding—do shared language, experiences, or even love truly facilitate understanding? These questions became central to my artistic exploration. I recognize that not everyone can be understood in the same manner; individuals are akin to islands, occasionally colliding or drifting apart. Despite our shared connection to the planet, we are shaped so differently that a small “invasion of foreign species” can be devastating.

Method

Crafting a compelling narrative can transform an ordinary story into something captivating, just like puzzles, drawing people to experience, interpret, and resonate with it repeatedly. Thus, I chose interaction as the primary medium for this project. Interactive storytelling fosters a dialogue, an intangible connection, akin to a game or a gamble between the creator and the participant. Effective interaction mechanics often require simple actions to produce profound experiences, a principle I aim to embody in my work. Consequently, I stop using conventional input devices like joysticks or keyboards, opting instead for intuitive interactions requiring just one or two actions from the audience. In “Currency for the Long-Gone World”, placing ghost money into the firepile serves as the sole action to activate interactions. For instance, inserting ghost money changes the TV channels, while refraining from doing so for a period triggers the conclusion and restart of the narrative loop.

Conclusion

I refuse to give up the pursuit of understanding and being understood. So I turned my attention to the belongings of humans - the narratives about objects. Instead, I turned my focus to human belongings—narratives woven around everyday objects. Over the past year, I've crafted narratives centered on objects, trying to transform the physical “daily things” into the digital “non-daily things”, to bring people's emotions tied to daily life. By projecting feelings onto objects and incorporating diverse personal narratives, my work aims to evoke empathy on a broader scale. I believe that genuine, personal narratives resonate more deeply than generalized accounts, bringing me closer to my overarching goal. Therefore, I try to expand my narrative material, including other people's stories of objects, as part of the narrative center. Using the object as a bridge and the narrative as the core, my endeavor is to foster mutual understanding among individuals.

︎Noey

litongzeng0502@gmail.com

︎ Twitter @Noey_Nuoyi ︎ Instagram @noeynuoyi ︎ ArtStation noey_nuoyi.artstation.com

︎ Twitter @Noey_Nuoyi

︎ Instagram @noeynuoyi

︎ ArtStation noey_nuoyi.artstation.com