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Cruel Optimism: Domestic Fantasy as Self-Healing
- A Chinese Utopia in the Shadows of Beijing’s Forgotten Spaces
Location: Beijing, China
Year: 2025
This project imagines a "Chinese Utopia" by merging digital and physical spaces in Beijing’s abandoned, soon-to-be-demolished hutongs. It focuses on two groups: homeless day labourers and nostalgic online players.
In the physical world, the project proposes an "occupiable framework" strategy for the homeless. By granting them autonomy to build, using collected materials to continuously reshape abandoned spaces, they gain identity and belonging. This dynamic structure adapts to shifting inhabitants, becoming a medium for resistance and self-expression.
In the virtual world, online players collaboratively collect nostalgic objects to construct a "surreal dreamcore museum" . This collective act serves as both self-healing and romanticised resistance - escaping into virtual dreams to resist harsh realities.
Through “accumulation”, the project bridges both physical and virtual worlds, examining belonging and identity reconstruction. Whether through physical construction or digital co-creation, it reflects “cruel optimism” - persisting in hope despite adversity. Ultimately, this hybrid space becomes a shared shelter for societal outcasts and digital nomads.