Digital bodies: loops of desire (2026)𝘋𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘉𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴: 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦 brings together three bodies of work from my ongoing research project 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘉𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴, which examines how online platforms turn bodies into both material and medium for endless cycles of production and consumption. Using collected TikTok videos, the exhibition reimagines these digital bodies through three abstract forms—experimental video, large-scale collage, and a projection-based media installation. Together, the works translate scrolling rhythms into a physical environment of loops, density, and pulsation. The exhibition invites audiences to linger beyond a single scroll, sitting with desire’s repetition while reflecting on (and resisting) the compulsion to consume.
Xpace Cultural Centre, Toronto CA May 16, 2026 - June 27, 2026 The Mist is a video installation comprising animated collages that utilize images and videos from social media thirst traps, particularly on TikTok. In this updated version, the lumpy, bulging structure is made of two long body pillows, each 5-7 meters long and 80 cm in circumference, intertwined and pinned to form a swollen structure suspended mid-air with aircraft cable. Thirst-trap videos are edited and abstracted into pulsating rhythms, projected onto the bulging parts of the structure, making it resemble a moving organ. The Mist reflects my experience that, regardless of how I try to trick the algorithm, the content I encounter always carries an unwavering presence of desire—whether it is portraying, embodying, or triggering the desire within me. It becomes a mist I cannot escape, until I eventually become part of this mass that is constantly throbbing, inflamed, and numbed.
Digital Insatiability consists of two large collage murals printed on fabric using sublimation printing, hung on the left and right walls. Constructed from layered screenshots of TikTok content such as mukbangs, the imagery reflects how digital identities are endlessly fragmented, replicated, and tangled. The dense visual compositions ask the viewer to confront their own compulsions, trapped in the sublime excess of digitally curated desire. Mukbang content is unique in that it is a literal manifestation of an urge to consume—visually and sonically stimulating. There is an aggression and desperation that seeps through the screen and can become uncomfortable; therefore, these collages aim to capture the haunting presence that lingers after watching an overwhelming amount of mukbang videos. This project recomposes still frames from collected videos into bulging, almost intestine-like shapes that embody endless consumption.
Work It (2026) is a short experimental video that loops infinitely, displaying a series of GIFs created with different bodies performing the same act. The project was my initial attempt to observe and analyze collected footage from TikTok, organizing it based on types of content, actions, and movements. While one person slowly backing up, turning, and kicking off their legs for a fit-check video seems perfectly normal, it becomes uncanny when a group of strangers perform the same action in an almost matching tempo. The project depicts our constant urge to perform and the compulsion to see the new, but eventually only produces variations of the same. These bodies become gears, engines, and fuel for never-stopping digital content production. They lure us with glamour, vitality, and positivity—like propaganda or ads.
Exhibition Essay by Simon Yantong Li
This exhibition is gratefully funded by Ontario Arts Council.
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