Tethered by Emotion

“Tethered by Emotion” is a virtual cultural theater constructed through the interplay of sound and movement, initiated by a culturally resonant form of ‘matchmaking.’
Starting from Quanzhou, we transform Nanyin—hailed as the ‘living fossil of Chinese music’—into a perceptible and manipulable sound logic. The refined body language of thousand-year-old string puppetry is abstracted into a real-time digital motion language.
In this immersive experience, we are no longer mere spectators, but active participants who ‘enter the play by pulling the strings.’ Here, matchmaking goes beyond meeting—it becomes a co-performed cultural dialogue in a gamified virtual space.”

“Tethered by Emotion” explores the immersive expression and participatory transmission of intangible cultural heritage within digital space, showcasing multi-layered innovation through the medium of virtual reality. At its core is an interactive mechanism of “sound-driven motion feedback,” where “Nanyin”—known as the “living fossil of Chinese music”—is restructured into a perceivable and manipulable sound logic. Simultaneously, the refined physical vocabulary of Quanzhou’s string puppetry is abstracted into a real-time digital motion language, forming a visible, audible, and controllable system of cultural interaction.
The work breaks down the traditional boundary between performer and audience, inviting participants to “enter the play by pulling the strings” and transform from passive viewers into active performers, reshaping the spatial dynamics and liveness of the theatrical experience. By adopting “matchmaking” as a metaphor for cultural social connection, the project creates a dual-user interaction system where players are linked through puppet co-performance and sound synchronization. Participants undergo a five-stage journey—exploration, training, co-performance, memory, and pairing—via local network synchronization, culminating in multiple narrative outcomes that foster emotional investment and immersive engagement.
Through the integration of cultural symbols such as “Sun Wukong”and “Zixia Fairy”, alongside visual references to Quanzhou’s regional aesthetics, the work enhances emotional resonance and narrative familiarity. In doing so, it evokes a sense of cultural memory and connection, especially among younger generations.
Overall, “Tethered by Emotion”blends intangible heritage, digital technology, and interactive art to construct a gamified, theatrical, and socially connected cultural experience. It offers a new narrative path and technical paradigm for the revitalization and reimagining of traditional culture in the digital age.

The most inspiring aspect of “Tethered by Emotion”lies in how it opens a new path for the transmission of intangible cultural heritage—one that is participatory, co-creative, and emotionally engaging.
Rather than simply showcasing tradition, the experience invites users to “use sound as a guide and movement as language,” stepping directly into the narrative space of heritage. Through collaborative puppet performance, participants not only perceive history but also awaken cultural memory through embodied interaction. By weaving in the culturally resonant metaphor of “matchmaking”, the work transforms the idea of meeting into a process of co-creation, emotional negotiation, and mutual expression—turning cultural heritage into a living, shared experience rather than a static archive.
For younger generations in particular, “Tethered by Emotion” breaks the stereotype that tradition is distant or outdated. It renders heritage playful, perceptible, and emotionally relatable. *Matchmaking* becomes more than just a meeting or choice—it becomes a co-performed dialogue through which people connect not only with one another, but also with the cultural roots that shape identity and belonging.
In this virtual space, individuals transcend boundaries of time, geography, and background. A symbolic “match” becomes a cultural encounter—an imaginative reconnection with both others and the living spirit of tradition. This is not only a form of preservation, but a powerful act of reimagining how culture can bond, inspire, and evolve in the future.