Ziqi XU

MFA Digital + Media

In Transit

In Transit is an interactive moving image work that explores how time is constructed through movement and perception. Set within an endless train, viewers move through repeating carriages where subtle shifts in light, motion, and spatial logic destabilize a coherent sense of reality.

Rather than a continuous flow, time here emerges through interaction—shaped by movement, expectation, and illusion.

The train operates as a system of constant forward motion without clear origin or destination. As viewers navigate this space, they begin to sense that time is not simply experienced, but actively constructed.

A dark, empty subway carriage with a long aisle, rows of seats, hanging straps, and dim light glowing softly at the far end.

Memory Instability
16:9; Adjustable size

Concept: Time is stretched through reduced change.
Mechanism: The carriage is flooded. Movement becomes slow, and water gradually rises, creating urgency within a slowed environment.
Line: Time does not stop—it thickens, pressing against the body.

A bright, empty subway carriage with a long central aisle, blue hand straps, rows of seats, and light streaming through windows, leading toward a distant door.

Reversed Temporal Logic
16:9; Adjustable size

Concept: Time is constructed through conditional events.
Mechanism: When the viewer moves, the outside landscape stops. When the viewer stops, it moves.
Line: Movement interrupts time; stillness sets it in motion.

A dim, empty subway carriage with blue seats and hanging straps, a long reflective aisle, and a glowing green exit sign above, fading into misty light ahead.

Endless Forward
16:9; Adjustable size

Concept: Time extends without resolution.
Mechanism: Exit signs continuously guide the viewer forward, but no exit is reached.
Line Direction exists, but arrival never comes.

A dark subway carriage with strong motion blur, a long central aisle, and faint light at the end, creating a fast, tunnel-like and disorienting feeling.

Split Time (Bullet Time)
16:9; Adjustable size

Concept: Multiple temporal speeds coexist.
Mechanism: The space is divided into zones of normal time and extreme slow motion.
Line: Time wraps around the body, tightening and releasing.

A subway carriage with a long central aisle, blue seats and straps, bright light from the windows, and a red glow at the far end creating a tense, cinematic atmosphere.

Irreversible Time
16:9; Adjustable size

Concept: Time as one-way progression.
Mechanism: Lights turn off behind the viewer, preventing return.
Line: What disappears behind you no longer belongs to you.

A long, narrow office with rows of green cubicles, desks and chairs, old computers, and bright ceiling lights leading toward a distant doorway.

Labor Cycle
16:9; Adjustable size

Concept: Time as repetition.
Mechanism: An infinite office replaces the carriage, repeating endlessly.
Line: Time repeats until it forgets its beginning.

A subway carriage with a long aisle, blue seats and straps, bright daylight outside, and glitch-like red and blue distortions overlaying the scene.

Quantified Time
16:9; Adjustable size

Concept Time as measured and controlled.
Mechanism The space shifts into a system of alarms, schedules, and tasks layered over the carriage.
Line Time is no longer felt — it is assigned.

A dark, futuristic space with a glowing grid floor and walls, dotted with stars, converging toward a central vertical light beam in the distance.

Undefined Future

Concept: Time as potential.
Mechanism: After repeated cycles, the viewer enters an infinite grid-like space.
Line: Time opens — not as direction, but as possibility.

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