#1776: The Spatial Grammar Innovations of Dialectical Contrasts and Abstraction within “The Big Cube”

I interviewed Menghui Huang about The Big Cube on Monday, September 1, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy.

Here is the story synopsis for The Big Cube:

"A world is made of cubes. The creatures there always follow instructions and push cubes numbly. Yet, when one of them chooses not to follow the instructions, after discovering another path, something unexpected happens."

Here are the contextual domains that are explored:

Tensions between the Sense of Self [1] in the context of the Other [7], and specifically the Cultural pressures to conform [11] with the desire to express personal creativity [5]. Takes inspiration from the repetitions of straight lines and rectanges of Chinese Architecture [4], and then creates more of an organic and flowing perspective as shown by a professional artist [5H in the context of 10]. A lot of dialectical oppositions contextually and thematically.

Here is the Elemental Center of Gravity:

1st Center of Gravity of Air Element / Mental and Social Presence: Abstracting shapes to build the world. The Big Cube is an artistic VR experience that explores the abstraction of reality through minimal forms and immersive space. -- The use of abstract shapes to communicate a lot. No words used at all, and so the contrasts between the embodied and spatial metaphors as used in a highly symbolic dream logic to tell this story. It has to be pieced together a bit, but the contrasts between controlled structure and unconstrained freedom and chaos come through loud and clear. "That's the true beauty of abstraction, it leaves space for everyone"2nd Center of Gravity of Earth Element / Environmental and Embodied Presence: Animated immersive film, and a paradigmatic example of pur spatial storytelling analagous to visual storytelling, but using the modulation of spatial architecture rather than the justaposition of 2D images in film. There was no script to follow, but mainly evolved out of the iterative and juxtapositions of spatial forms relative to each other3rd Center of Gravity of Water Element / Emotional Presence: Very much driven by the music to amplify the thematic contrasts from constriction to expansion, and serves the timekeeper of the piece giving it an overall rhythm and pacing.4th Center of Gravity of Fire Element / Active Presence: No narrative agency or any embodied Interactions

Archetypal Themes and Character Explored:

The tension between Order / Structure / Control and Chaos / Unboundedness / Freedom. Definitely inspired by the collective pressures to conform within China versus the creative freedom and expression that comes from travelling to other cultures to find an authentic artistic voice. This is a very dialectical piece that is a case study in spatial contrasts to communicate oppositions within contextual domains, themes, and expressions of archetypal character.

Artist Statement:

"Simple, yet powerful. Abstracting shapes to build the world. The Big Cube is an artistic VR experience that explores the abstraction of reality through minimal forms and immersive space. Anchored in the idea that simplicity can carry profound meaning, the project reduces the complexity of the world into fundamental shapes. These visual elements, stripped of detail yet rich in implication, invite viewers into a contemplative space. Through virtual reality, the experience deepens, allowing for a layered reflection that extends beyond the visual. The project encourages audiences to feel and interpret the experience in their own way."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdVmImU9G3A

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Music: Fatality