Working Process: The Outsider
OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT
This project originates from my personal experience during high school and my early encounter with the writings of Albert Camus. At that time, I was deeply drawn to his work because it articulated a sense of dissociation and disconnection that closely mirrored my own lived reality. This feeling emerged from the gap between the life I aspired to pursue and the one I was expected to live, and the awareness of this contradiction marked the beginning of an early existential consciousness.
I grew up in a period when China was rapidly advancing in science and technology, and academic culture strongly emphasized achievement in these fields. The widely circulated belief that mastering science subjects guaranteed future success reflected both social values and parental expectations. Within this system, students with strong academic performance were often directed toward science-oriented paths, while artistic pursuits were subtly discouraged. Despite recognizing my own inclination toward art and creativity, I continued to conform, fulfilling the role of an obedient high-achieving student.
Although I aspired to study art, I remained in a highly competitive science-track environment. The absence of like-minded peers, combined with the demand to invest time and energy in subjects that conflicted with my interests, created a prolonged sense of internal tension. This mismatch between external structure and internal desire became a quiet but persistent form of distress. Over time, the monotony of daily life and the lack of an outlet for my passion led to depression.
I grew up in a period when China was rapidly advancing in science and technology, and academic culture strongly emphasized achievement in these fields. The widely circulated belief that mastering science subjects guaranteed future success reflected both social values and parental expectations. Within this system, students with strong academic performance were often directed toward science-oriented paths, while artistic pursuits were subtly discouraged. Despite recognizing my own inclination toward art and creativity, I continued to conform, fulfilling the role of an obedient high-achieving student.
Although I aspired to study art, I remained in a highly competitive science-track environment. The absence of like-minded peers, combined with the demand to invest time and energy in subjects that conflicted with my interests, created a prolonged sense of internal tension. This mismatch between external structure and internal desire became a quiet but persistent form of distress. Over time, the monotony of daily life and the lack of an outlet for my passion led to depression.
After unsuccessful attempts to communicate with my parents, I came to understand that completing the high school entrance examination was a necessary step toward changing my circumstances. During this period, I began to consciously document my mental state and engage in self-reflection, in order to maintain awareness and resist becoming emotionally numbed by external pressures. While continuing to fulfill academic responsibilities, I developed a more determined and self-aware approach to navigating this situation.
It was only later, through continued life experience, that I formally encountered existentialism and recognized that my earlier responses already reflected an intuitive alignment with its principles. At its core, existentialism acknowledges the inherent absurdity of life and the fact that individuals are born into systems shaped by social norms, ethics, and expectations. In response, some people remain unconsciously embedded within these systems, others become aware but choose compliance or escape, while a few actively resist.
In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus describes two possible responses for those who recognize this condition: one is suicide, which he frames as a fundamental philosophical question; the other is to transcend—to consciously construct the self, live with clarity in the present, and actively confront the absurdity of existence. This latter position forms a critical foundation for the conceptual framework of this project.
OVERVIEW OF THE NOVEL
In The Outsider, the protagonist Meursault is often perceived as a figure detached from social norms: his indifference toward his mother’s death, emotional distance from his lover, lack of interest in career advancement, and passive stance during his trial all seem to construct an image of a cold and unfeeling individual.
However, this reading may be overly superficial. Meursault is not devoid of emotion; rather, he refuses to define himself and his life according to socially prescribed values. His way of relating to the world is neither performative nor conformist, but grounded in a direct and unmediated perception of experience. Even his moments of confusion or numbness do not signify emptiness, but instead reflect an honest response to his own condition and to the reality around him.
This unembellished authenticity and refusal to pretend led me to reconsider the relationship between emotional detachment and clarity. In Camus’ concept of “zero-degree writing,” this restrained and de-dramatized mode of expression dissolves the boundary between literature and lived experience. It suggests that the process of self-understanding begins with the truthful acknowledgment of one’s own condition. This sense of authenticity has had a profound impact on me and has become a key starting point in my practice.
It was only later, through continued life experience, that I formally encountered existentialism and recognized that my earlier responses already reflected an intuitive alignment with its principles. At its core, existentialism acknowledges the inherent absurdity of life and the fact that individuals are born into systems shaped by social norms, ethics, and expectations. In response, some people remain unconsciously embedded within these systems, others become aware but choose compliance or escape, while a few actively resist.
In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus describes two possible responses for those who recognize this condition: one is suicide, which he frames as a fundamental philosophical question; the other is to transcend—to consciously construct the self, live with clarity in the present, and actively confront the absurdity of existence. This latter position forms a critical foundation for the conceptual framework of this project.
OVERVIEW OF THE NOVEL
In The Outsider, the protagonist Meursault is often perceived as a figure detached from social norms: his indifference toward his mother’s death, emotional distance from his lover, lack of interest in career advancement, and passive stance during his trial all seem to construct an image of a cold and unfeeling individual.
However, this reading may be overly superficial. Meursault is not devoid of emotion; rather, he refuses to define himself and his life according to socially prescribed values. His way of relating to the world is neither performative nor conformist, but grounded in a direct and unmediated perception of experience. Even his moments of confusion or numbness do not signify emptiness, but instead reflect an honest response to his own condition and to the reality around him.
This unembellished authenticity and refusal to pretend led me to reconsider the relationship between emotional detachment and clarity. In Camus’ concept of “zero-degree writing,” this restrained and de-dramatized mode of expression dissolves the boundary between literature and lived experience. It suggests that the process of self-understanding begins with the truthful acknowledgment of one’s own condition. This sense of authenticity has had a profound impact on me and has become a key starting point in my practice.
STYLE RESEARCH
Spatial and Architectural Language
The visual development of this project is grounded in the setting of 1940s Algiers under French colonial rule, a city shaped by layered cultural, political, and social tensions. Rather than treating this context purely as background, I approached it as a source for constructing a visual system that reflects both spatial complexity and psychological atmosphere.
Through research into the urban landscape of Algiers, I focused on the coexistence of European colonial architecture—such as rigid governmental structures and repetitive residential blocks—and traditional Islamic elements, including mosques, enclosed courtyards, and dense, winding alleyways. I translated this contrast into visual compositions by juxtaposing structured, geometric forms with more organic, irregular spatial arrangements, allowing the environment itself to reflect tension and fragmentation.
In addition, I drew from film stills and photographic references to inform lighting, framing, and spatial depth. Strong contrasts between light and shadow, compressed interior spaces, and open yet isolating exterior environments are used to reinforce a sense of emotional distance. The Mediterranean coastal setting is selectively incorporated as a spatial extension of emptiness and exposure.
Rather than replicating the setting literally, I distilled its visual and atmospheric qualities—loneliness, desolation, and psychological disconnection—into a simplified but expressive visual language. In this way, the environment functions not only as a narrative setting, but as an active element in conveying the protagonist’s internal state.
Character and Costume Design
Spatial and Architectural Language
The visual development of this project is grounded in the setting of 1940s Algiers under French colonial rule, a city shaped by layered cultural, political, and social tensions. Rather than treating this context purely as background, I approached it as a source for constructing a visual system that reflects both spatial complexity and psychological atmosphere.
Through research into the urban landscape of Algiers, I focused on the coexistence of European colonial architecture—such as rigid governmental structures and repetitive residential blocks—and traditional Islamic elements, including mosques, enclosed courtyards, and dense, winding alleyways. I translated this contrast into visual compositions by juxtaposing structured, geometric forms with more organic, irregular spatial arrangements, allowing the environment itself to reflect tension and fragmentation.
In addition, I drew from film stills and photographic references to inform lighting, framing, and spatial depth. Strong contrasts between light and shadow, compressed interior spaces, and open yet isolating exterior environments are used to reinforce a sense of emotional distance. The Mediterranean coastal setting is selectively incorporated as a spatial extension of emptiness and exposure.
Rather than replicating the setting literally, I distilled its visual and atmospheric qualities—loneliness, desolation, and psychological disconnection—into a simplified but expressive visual language. In this way, the environment functions not only as a narrative setting, but as an active element in conveying the protagonist’s internal state.
Character and Costume Design
OVERVIEW
Overview of the project
INSPIRATION: the experience of life in high school
Camus is a writer I came across and loved in high school. I was drawn to him because his work perfectly recreates a sense of dissociation and disconnection from my life in high school. This sense of dissociation and disconnection was born out of the disconnect between the life I was pursuing and the world I was living in, and the absurdity of this disconnect was the beginning of the budding of existentialism in one being.
At the time of my birth, China was just gaining international recognition for its rapid industrial and technological development. This is why the saying "Learn Maths, Science and Chemistry and you can travel the world without fear" was popular at that time, expressing people's admiration for technology and science, and parents' ardent expectation for their children to become technically gifted. In this subtle discrimination, children with good grades were involuntarily sent to study science and technology, while studying art or arts was discriminated against. I was painfully fulfilling the responsibility of being a perfectly obedient top student until I awakened to it, even though I was acutely aware of my talent for art and creativity.
INSPIRATION: the experience of life in high school
Camus is a writer I came across and loved in high school. I was drawn to him because his work perfectly recreates a sense of dissociation and disconnection from my life in high school. This sense of dissociation and disconnection was born out of the disconnect between the life I was pursuing and the world I was living in, and the absurdity of this disconnect was the beginning of the budding of existentialism in one being.
At the time of my birth, China was just gaining international recognition for its rapid industrial and technological development. This is why the saying "Learn Maths, Science and Chemistry and you can travel the world without fear" was popular at that time, expressing people's admiration for technology and science, and parents' ardent expectation for their children to become technically gifted. In this subtle discrimination, children with good grades were involuntarily sent to study science and technology, while studying art or arts was discriminated against. I was painfully fulfilling the responsibility of being a perfectly obedient top student until I awakened to it, even though I was acutely aware of my talent for art and creativity.
Wanting to study art, I was forced to
be trapped in the reality of a superior science class.
Day in and day out, facing an environment without any like-minded friends and
still having to spend a lot of time and energy studying courses that ran
counter to my aspirations, was
a constant and silent torture for me. The boredom on the surface of my life and
the passion I had nowhere else to turn led to depression, and after talking to
my parents to no avail, I knew I had to complete my High School Entrance Examination
before I could really change my life and realize my ambitions - I had to get
through it in a more determined and positive way. So I was sober enough to keep
a daily record of my state and speak to myself so as not to become numbed by
the influence of others, and sober enough to continue to complete my school
work, in tandem with the fact that it was only later, in the long practice of
living, that I was introduced to existentialism and learned that the values I
was practising were both existential. This was the germ of existentialism in
me.
The core of existentialism is
precisely the same: our lives are full of absurdities and we are bound by
socially established ethics, morals and rules from the moment we are born. When
faced with these rules, some people are completely caught up in them without
realizing it; some are aware of the problem or have awakened to it, but choose
to obey or mentally escape in the face of the powerful institutional effects;
and then there are those who have awakened and choose to resist. In The Myth
of Sisyphus, Camus discusses two ways of resistance for this last category
of people, one is suicide ("There is only one really serious philosophical
problem, and that is suicide"), and the other is to transcend life, to
construct the idea of the self, to live soberly in the present and to actively
confront the absurdities of life.
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