zoezilinchen@gmail.com
In the Conch is an experimental visual publication and material research project that investigates the emotional consequences of contemporary efficiency culture. Through an experimental book, data-driven illustrations, and 3D-printed sculptural forms, the project examines how accelerated media consumption, from short-form video to fast-paced playback, compresses perception and diminishes emotional resonance.
The central challenge was developing a translation framework that could materialize the invisible compression of emotion. The project required defining measurable transformations between sound, data, image, and object without reducing the conceptual complexity.
1. Model Construction and Theoretical Framing
The first stage established a conceptual model examining acceleration as a structural condition of contemporary communication. Emotional dialogues from ten film clips were extracted and analyzed. By comparing original speech patterns with accelerated playback, variations in waveform amplitude and rhythm were observed, revealing how temporal compression alters emotional expression.
In the second stage, extracted waveforms were abstracted into continuous lines representing emotional rise and fall. These lines were computationally transformed into circular and spiral geometries, forming the structural basis of three-dimensional objects.
The final stage translated digital forms into physical objects through 3D printing.
Execution
By translating emotional voice into waveform data, the project inevitably abstracts subjective experience into measurable form. This process raises questions about the limits of quantifying emotion.
Future iterations could formalize the translation rules, documenting parameters, thresholds, and comparative metrics, allowing the work to function not only as an artwork but as a replicable research model.