10 Questions with Darious Shan
Darious Shan (b. 2004, China) is a media artist and designer working across speculative design, interactive media, and moving image. She is currently pursuing her postgraduate studies in Creative Computing at the University of the Arts London (UAL). Shan’s practice explores the entanglement of technology, aesthetics, and human emotion, engaging with themes such as cultural memory, digital identity, and psychological resilience. Her work has spanned from interactive installations and UI/UX design to performative video, often combining critical research with imaginative visual storytelling.
Darious Shan - Portrait
ARTIST STATEMENT
Darious Shan’s artistic practice investigates how objects, technologies, and narratives can carry emotional weight across time and imagined futures. Her work often positions design as both a protective medium and a poetic form of misinterpretation.
Her speculative project Light Shell: Earth Fantasy Series envisions a future where humanity begins to colonise Mars.Addressing issues of solar radiation and alienation, Shan proposes a series of fictional objects designed for women that merge camouflage mechanisms with magical-girl aesthetics. Through jewellery-like artefacts, embellished combs, and a companion digital interface, the work reflects on how protective design can embody both survival and symbolic care while questioning the psychological consequences of technological empowerment.
In contrast, her video piece 1925 Whisper turns towards the past, constructing an intimate, ritual-like scene in which letters, flowers, and everyday objects are activated through performance. Presented under dim violet light, the work reflects on friendship, distance, and memory, highlighting how material gestures and slow unfolding can anchor emotional resonance.
Together, these projects illustrate Shan’s ongoing interest in how speculative artefacts and performative gestures transform ordinary materials into carriers of cultural memory. By weaving between futuristic imaginaries and nostalgic atmospheres, her practice invites viewers to consider the fragile yet powerful ways in which design and storytelling shape human connection across time and space.
Light Shell, Mixed materials, rhinestone embellishment, object photography, 2025 © Darious Shan
INTERVIEW
First off, can you tell us a bit about your background? What experiences helped you develop into the artist you are today?
I studied Interactive Media at the University of York, where I first learned to approach design as both a technical and conceptual practice. I am now a postgraduate student in Creative Computing at the University of the Arts London. Beyond academia, I create book reviews as a journalist, run a TikTok account under woyoungism vlogs, and practice photography. These experiences shaped me into an artist who blends digital culture, narrative imagination, and critical design.
How has your postgraduate experience at UAL shaped or expanded your artistic practice?
Although I have only recently begun my studies, UAL has already broadened my perspective. The program introduces me to diverse approaches and connects me with artists from different backgrounds. I believe this will make my future work more collaborative, experimental, and multidisciplinary, and will open up new ways of thinking about digital art.
Light Shell, Mixed materials, rhinestone embellishment, object photography, 2025 © Darious Shan
'Light Shell: Earth Fantasy Series' is a science fiction design project that imagines a future where humanity begins colonising Mars. To address extreme solar radiation and the emotional alienation brought about by amplified technology, the project envisions a series of fictional products designed specifically for women, aimed at providing short-term protection and symbolic comfort. The design draws inspiration from animal camouflage mechanisms, such as the adaptive colour changes of chameleons, and the glowing transformation sequences found in magical girl anime. Each object is activated by flickering light, granting the user temporary invisibility and a sense of power.
The series includes items such as mirrors, combs, pendants, and bags adorned with rhinestones, whose designs are inspired by the popular 'What's in my bag' content commonly shared on social media. These objects are reinterpreted as cultural artefacts, misinterpreted by future Martian archaeologists regarding their original purposes. A companion app simulates Martian weather conditions and presents fictional usage stories, reinforcing the project's themes of symbolic misinterpretation and emotional memory. While the invisibility feature suggests empowerment, it also prompts reflection on psychological side effects and emotional isolation.
The project as a whole explores how protective design can carry the multifaceted meanings of survival, misinterpretation, and care in an alien world.
What drew you to working with speculative design, interactive media, and moving images?
During my undergraduate studies, I became fascinated with how media and design could combine to create speculative worlds. I also enjoy film and visual storytelling, which naturally led me to experiment with moving images and interactive platforms. These mediums allow me to explore both conceptual depth and audience engagement.
Your projects often balance technology with emotion. How do you approach this intersection in your work?
I read widely and take inspiration from stories, which helps me embed emotional resonance into my projects. When working with technology, I try to ensure that design elements support narrative and symbolism rather than overshadow them. My aim is always to balance the technical with the poetic.
Could you walk us through your creative process when starting a new piece?
I often begin by collecting ideas and building collages of references on Pinterest. These mood boards spark visual and narrative directions. From there, I refine the concept, experiment with materials, and slowly develop the project through iteration and reflection.
1925 Whisper (Letter Unfolding), Video Still, 2161x1216 px, 2024 © Darious Shan
1925 Whisper is a short, immersive video work that explores memory, storytelling, and emotional resonance through tactile interaction with everyday objects. Set under dim violet lighting, a performer wearing embroidered gloves slowly retrieves handwritten letters from a glass bottle and unfolds them with care. These notes, written in 1925, express friendship, distance, and entrustment, offering a gentle reflection on care and connection.
The scene is composed with symbolic materials such as dried flowers, a worn notebook, and textured kraft paper, arranged like a map of memory. Through precise gestures and intimate pacing, the work invites the viewer into a quiet, ritual-like moment. It draws on theories of performance, distributed selfhood, and semiotic storytelling, positioning physical objects as anchors for imagined personal histories.
Together, the piece reflects on how objects, through light, touch, and narrative pause, can carry emotional weight across time.
1925 Whisper (Overview Scene), Video Still, 2161x1216 px, 2024 © Darious Shan
Your project Light Shell: Earth Fantasy Series imagines protective artefacts for life on Mars. What inspired you to merge futuristic design with magical-girl aesthetics?
The series was inspired by questions about how future Martian settlers might reinterpret Earth’s cultural artefacts. I drew on camouflage in nature, magical-girl anime transformations, and everyday feminine items such as bags or cosmetics.Combining speculative protection with playful fantasy allowed me to design objects that are both poetic and symbolic.
In contrast, your video piece, 1925 Whisper, reflects on the past. How do you navigate between futuristic imaginaries and nostalgic atmospheres?
I have always been drawn to storytelling. For 1925 Whisper, I began with collages of letters, flowers, and intimate objects, which inspired a scene that feels ritualistic and nostalgic. In contrast to my futuristic projects, this work invited me to look backwards and explore how memory, light, and gesture can carry emotional weight across time.
Cultural memory and digital identity are recurring themes in your practice. Why are these topics important to you?
Digital identity is important to me because of my background in media studies—working with digital platforms and tools has always been central to my education and artistic practice. I see digital identity as the way we construct and present ourselves through media, and this naturally becomes part of my work.
Cultural memory matters to me because I am often drawn into a storytelling state of mind. I like to imagine that every object carries a story, whether real or fictional. This habit of seeing objects as narrative anchors influences how I create artworks like 1925 Whisper, where ordinary materials evoke memory, fantasy, and emotional connection.
Light Shell, Mixed materials, rhinestone embellishment, object photography, 2025 © Darious Shan
What mediums or technologies are you most excited to explore further in your upcoming projects?
I am excited to explore AR and VR as ways to merge digital storytelling with physical experience. These technologies can expand speculative design into immersive environments, allowing audiences to feel part of the worlds I construct.
Lastly, looking ahead, what are your goals or dreams for your future practice as an artist and designer?
My goal is to continue producing projects that spark imagination, reflection, and dialogue. I hope to share my works in more exhibitions and bring them to wider audiences. Ultimately, my dream is to treat every project with care and to create works that blur boundaries between narrative, technology, and emotion.
Artist’s Talk
Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.
