artist and designer xiaobi pan presents ‘poeceptible’, a VR experience that reinterprets ancient chinese poetry into 4D, allowing people without prior knowledge of the language to appreciate its traditional poetry. the beauty of chinese poetry lies not in its semantic storytelling, but rather in its visual element through the calligraphic characters. hence, at its core, it is already a multi-sensory experience.

poeceptible by xiaobi pan transforms ancient chinese poetry into a VR experience designboom

after wearing the headset, the viewer will be immersed in a poetic landscape made up of moving characters

all images and video courtesy of xiaobi pan

 

 

in order to revive that abstract aesthetic nature of ancient chinese poetry, VR was chosen as the medium to create a non-linear visual and audio experience. during the creation process, xiaobi pan asked the following questions: ‘what makes chinese traditional poetry unique?’ ‘what can and cannot be translated?’ and ‘what are VR’s advantages?’ from this, poeceptible was born.

poeceptible by xiaobi pan transforms ancient chinese poetry into a VR experience designboom

the animated calligraphic writings highlight the 4D nature of traditional chinese characters

 

 

the elements of the poem, the calligraphic characters, were drawn and animated in VR. viewers will be able to navigate the 4D poetic landscape in their own way, looking at, looking through, hearing, touching and feeling the poem in an abstract sense. each person will achieve a personalized viewing experience of the poem according to their own way of navigation. it enables a global audience, and even a new generation of china, to rediscover the intrinsic beauty in chinese poetry.

poeceptible by xiaobi pan transforms ancient chinese poetry into a VR experience designboom

they have depth, movement, transitions, and stories within them

poeceptible by xiaobi pan transforms ancient chinese poetry into a VR experience designboom

for instance, the screenshot of the character ‘归’ (return), consists of two wandering parts rejoining each other

poeceptible by xiaobi pan transforms ancient chinese poetry into a VR experience designboom

the character ‘舞’ (dance) is presented by a human being dancing with grasses revolving around him/her

poeceptible by xiaobi pan transforms ancient chinese poetry into a VR experience designboom

the character ‘高’ (higher-up) is literally a structure that was put high above the sky

poeceptible by xiaobi pan transforms ancient chinese poetry into a VR experience designboom

these 4D representations are derived from the designer’s research into their original written form – xiaozhuan

poeceptible by xiaobi pan transforms ancient chinese poetry into a VR experience designboom

poeceptible attempts to transform a static poem made up of words, into a living, breathing 4D cultural landscape 

 

 

project info:

 

project name: ‘poeceptible’

artist: xiaobi pan

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: lynne myers | designboom