窫窳 YaYu
PRODUCED BY
YEAR
Zechen Huang
2021
TOOLS
Unreal Engine 4 | Rhino
A deity in ancient Chinese mythology.
《山海经·北山经·北次一经》：又北二百里，曰少咸之山，无草木，多青碧。有兽焉，其状如牛，而赤身、人面、马足，名曰窫窳，其音如婴儿，是食人。敦水出焉，东流注于雁门之水，其中多魳魳之鱼。食之杀人。
<<Shan Hai Jing · Bei Shan Jing · Bei Ci Yi Jing>>: "Two hundred miles to the north lies the Mountain of Shao Xian, devoid of plants and trees, and mostly covered in blue and green. There is a beast there, resembling a cow, with a red body, a human face, and horse-like hooves, called 窫窳 (yà yǔ). Its cry is like that of a baby, and it eats humans. The Dun River originates there, flowing eastward and joining the Yanmen River, where many fish called 魳魳 can be found. Eating these fish kills people."
窫窳 YaYu
YaYu refers to something obscure, cryptic, or hard to understand. It describes complexity, mystery, or ambiguity, often invoking a sense of intrigue or confusion, resisting easy interpretation.
The project Yayu was conceived as a fusion of ancient Chinese mythology and hyper-modern urban environments. It brings one of the oldest mythical creatures into the contemporary context of urban society, envisioned as a prosthetic semi-open space attached to an educational building. Through animation, a concept film, and environmental design, Yayuforms a dynamic, parasitic spatial relationship between the prosthetic space, the building, and the urban fabric.
I explored the complex textures and forms of this ancient deity, translating its immense scale and fluid movements into my design using the Niagara system in UE4. Each sweeping shape reflects Yayu's motion, muscle structure, and skeletal dynamics, culminating in a visually spectacular representation.
