Project Overview

Childhood.exe is an installation-based project that investigates how children are gradually shaped by the algorithmic logic of short-video culture. 
The work extracts fragments of everyday gestures and language, transforming them into irregular abstract forms that endlessly circulate within 
a fragmented visual environment. This transformation underscores the tension between playful innocence and the mechanical reproduction of attention. 

Through observation and participation, the audience gradually perceives the body as both a spontaneous site and a medium inscribed by algorithms. 
By revealing this tension, the project provokes critical reflection on the intersections of childhood, digital spectacle, 
and the erosion of autonomous imagination in contemporary society.

Installation / Experimental Film 
Touchdesigner / Arduino IDE / Unreal Engine

Installation Design

Mainly extract graphics from the postures and language of children in the works that have been released on short-video platforms, 
and then stitch them together to form the shape of flowers.

Why Flower?

Inspired by the Chinese metaphor of children as the “flowers of the nation,” this installation uses a distorted, 
technological flower form to reflect the unnatural growth of children shaped by digital influence.

 Before interact

After interact 

Element extraction

Everyday chatter from children is captured and transformed into visuals using TouchDesigner. 
The resulting shape becomes part of the installation pattern.

Background Display

A character model was developed based on a school-age child, capturing habitual expressions and gestures such as blinking and pouting. 

The character was then abstracted through distortion and deformation techniques to convey a contemporary sense of malfunction and contamination.