Art Director & Creative Designer
Short Film
Temple Fantasy
Buddhism has been deeply rooted in Chinese culture for centuries, shaping people’s values, rituals and everyday lives. In recent years, digital technologies have entered temple spaces, transforming familiar practices through QR-code donations, digital prayer notes and other electronic forms of worship. These interventions alter not only the visual language of religious practice, but also how faith is performed, experienced and understood.
This project examines how digital technology is reshaping Buddhist worship in contemporary Chinese temples. It questions whether traditional rituals and sacred environments can retain their spiritual significance when mediated by digital and commercial systems. In response, I created a virtual temple in the metaverse and designed a game based on the behaviours of contemporary worshippers. Through these speculative environments, the project invites audiences to reflect on the secularisation and commercialisation of Chinese Buddhist temples, and on how technology is redefining the boundaries between devotion, convenience and consumption.
Director/ Creative: Jiqiang(Johnny) Wen
Cinematographer: Thomas James Gilbert
3D production: Jiqiang(Johnny) Wen & Huan Sun
Animation & Editing: Jiqiang(Johnny) Wen & Manqing Huang
Special thanks to Simin Zhu & Jingjing Qi
Exhibitions
Sep–Nov 2022
Project Stars: An Unshortcut in the Wave of the Times
Tree Art Museum, Beijing, China
Production Process