System of Violence:Submerged Evidences

Developed from field research in Akka (Acre), Palestine, System of Violence: Submerged Evidences is a collaborative project by Lileas Meng and Xiya Chen at the Royal College of Art. It brings material, spatial and embodied forms of evidence into relation through three distinct components.

The mixed-media installation was collaboratively designed and produced by Lileas Meng and Xiya Chen. Alongside this jointly authored physical installation, Submerged Microevidence is an independent work solely by Xiya Chen, and The Thread is an independently conceived and produced VR work solely by Lileas Meng.

Within this parent project, The Thread draws on embodied experiences and materials gathered through fieldwork to construct an alternative spatial narration from fragmented, submerged and partially accessible evidence. Motion capture translates bodily movement into a method of navigating its interactive spatial archive, allowing memory and information to be encountered through movement. These distinct components bring material and spatial evidence into dialogue with embodied ways of encountering an archive while retaining their individual authorship.