“Dong Xuan” reinterprets the classic German fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel, blending physical, geographical, digital, and linguistic landscapes. Named after a Berlin-based Vietnamese market, inspired by Vietnam’s largest indoor market in Hanoi, the video captures performances within a culturally hybrid space. Performers of German-Asian heritage traverse an ersatz forest of synthetic plants, reflecting a melding of worlds.
The production integrates artificial intelligence, reimagining transitions, cuts, and the notion of cultural artificiality. Processed through an AI neural network, the footage undergoes a transformation where images degrade and morph into each other, symbolizing a journey through digital limbo. Embracing Legacy Russell’s concept of glitching, “Dong Xuan” challenges the structural norms of technology, consequently disrupting the social and cultural norms upheld by these systems. The glitches not only mirror the characters’ disorientation as they wander into an abstract, latent space but also signify the blurring boundaries in an increasingly digital future. The film’s geopolitical scrambling of site, place, people, and time not only offers insights into navigating and interpreting histories but also demonstrates how new technologies can obscure yet illuminate the complex networks of our diverse narratives and cultures.
Actor: Natalie Mik
Actor: Duc Pham
Narrator: Tricia Brioux
8 minutes 35 seconds
2024
