Hantao Li is a visual artist and architectural designer, he intertwines real footage with computer-generated imagery to critically explore and situate today’s society and technology. Through radical and speculative fictions, Hantao envisions and interrogates the environments and landscapes that shape the human condition. His primary tools include narrative films co-produced with real-time game engines, actual footage, and scientific foundations, all aimed at immersing audiences in these speculative worlds.
Influenced by video games, architectural visualization, and simulations, he utilizes CGI environments to symbolize structures of power. This approach allows him to craft surreal sequences that unveil hidden realities and probe into potential futures.
@hantaoli98
hantao.li98@gmail.com
Single-channel video, 11 min, 2024
'Natura 2040' draws its inspiration from Edward O. Wilson’s provocative Half-Earth theory, which reserving half of the planet as nature reserves to address the crises of ecological degradation and species extinction. The project envisions an alternative reality where the fictional organization Natura 2040 has compressed sprawling farmland into two 100-meter high walls that demarcate the boundaries between city and nature in the artificially constructed land of Flevopolder, Netherlands. This bold move leaves half of the polder to rewild, becoming an extension of the Oostvaardersplassen Nature Reserve.
'Natura 2040' does not aim to present a utopian or dystopian vision of the future of farming. Instead, it offers a series of visual narratives that probe the blending of these contrasting elements. By questioning the essence and definition of nature when placed on a man-made foundation, the film invites viewers to ponder the motivations and implications behind such ambitious ecological experiments.
What does it mean to preserve nature on artificially constructed land? Is this still nature, or merely an artificial illusion? How can we reconcile the relationship between human-made infrastructures and the natural ecosystems they are meant to support? Are the potential consequences of such drastic interventions foreseeable? These questions are central to the film's inquiry, challenging the audience to reflect on the impact of these interventions and the future they could forge.
A Film by: Hantao Li
Sound Design and Composition: Juice Shuting Cui
Cinematography: Hantao Li, Zhifei Liang
Cast:
Intro Narration: David Greene
Outro Narration: Asta Minns
Special Thanks:
Inigo Minns, Manijeh Verghese, David Greene, Sebastian Tiew, Zhifei Liang, AA Diploma 12
Made with Support From
Architectural Association School of Architecture
Moving Image Awards, Simultan Festival 2024
First Prize in Film/Game Music, World Melodia Music Award
Great Creativity Special Prize, World Melodia Music Award
Screening:
Simultan Festival 2024, Corneliu Miklosi Museum, Timișoara , Romania, 3-6 Oct 2024
Desire for Useless, House of European Institutes Timișoara, Romania, 9-10 Nov 2024
Beijing International Short Film Festival, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art , Beijing, China, 23 Nov - 1 Dec 2024
Exhibition:
Actor Network, Royal College of Art, Hangar Space, Battersea, London, UK, 26 - 28 Nov, 2024