' Behind Smile '
Artist: Qiwei Zhang, Ximeng Li
Year: Jun 2018
Interactive Art Installation
This is an art system that can let participants feel the heart of smiling depressed patients and increase the degree of care for patients.
Third Prize for Creative New Media in the First China University Student Creativity Festival
Finalist Award of the 3rd Longli International New Media Art Festival
Description
The installation can sense people’s body induction and then interact with the mask wall, which is built by 220 masks. I collected smiles and stories from dozens of smiling depression patients. Wherever you walk through, the masks will start smiling and tell the words from their deep heart.
The comparison between smiles and depressing words will show the real spiritual world of these smiling depression patients.
Background
According to the data from the World Health Organization. There are about 750 million people suffering from depression. Every year, about 1 million people committed suicide due to depression issue. But 71% of them tried to hide the problem. They are smiling depression patients.
They always show a happy face in front of people, even more, humorous than others.
They are the people whom you believe have good social skills.
Sometimes they play the role of “pistachio” (source of happiness) in a group.
But there only leaves worthless, disabled, and desperate existence behind a smiling and happy mask.
Technical Path
