Dancing with Electronic Fish: Huang Anqi’s Playful Vision of Truth

When you walk into an exhibition and see a school of robotic fish flapping their tails while tumbling across the floor, you might wonder: "Am I watching a sci-fi experiment or an art installation?" The answer, at least in Huang Anqi’s world, is both. The Kyoto-based artist, who studied sculpture and interactive media, is challenging perceptions with her latest work “Free Humanity”, a kinetic installation that brings absurdity and introspection to the digital age.

Anqi Huang (b. 2002)  is a typical Gen Z artist from China. Her practice focuses on sound and interactive installations, often exploring the relationship between technology, perception, and public engagement.

She began working with sound in 2022 with Sound of the Heart, followed by Listening to the Wind in 2023, which won TUFE’s Outstanding Graduation Design Award. In 2024, she continued her research at Kyoto with works like Where and Free Humanity, further developing her interest in responsive, immersive experiences.

Fish, Lies, and the Internet Age

At first glance, Free Humanity is whimsical—a series of 11 robotic fish, headfirst in the ground, tails flailing, weaving through an enclosed space made of bamboo structures and indigo-dyed fabric. But dig deeper, and the work reveals its sharp social commentary. “I was fascinated by how online controversies evolve—how stories gain traction, twist into something else, and leave the truth impossible to pin down,” Huang explains.

“People tend to think of truth as something clear-cut,” she continues. “But in the internet age, it’s a constantly morphing entity.” The fish, made from an eclectic mix of 3D-printed parts, surveillance cameras, and solar tower-like structures, represent this ambiguity. Their unpredictable movements make it impossible to classify them—are they creatures? Machines? Symbols of manipulated narratives?

A Conversation with the Artist

Q: How did you approach the choice of materials and space design?

“Bamboo and indigo-dyed fabric form a circular space, like ripples on water,” Huang says. “The fish move within this virtual ‘water,’ blurring boundaries between freedom and restriction.”

“The bamboo and fabric were intentional choices,” Huang explains. “Bamboo has this strong yet flexible quality, and it’s deeply rooted in traditional Asian architecture. The fabric, dyed in deep indigo, creates a layered, immersive environment—almost like water, but also like a cage. The fish are trapped within it, but they move freely. It plays into the tension between freedom and restriction, which mirrors how we experience digital spaces.”

Q: Why fish?

Huang laughs. “Initially, it was about misinformation. Remember when AI-generated images of mutated fish went viral, supposedly proving nuclear contamination? They weren’t real, but people believed them.” The fish in Free Humanity embody that contradiction—strange enough to make us doubt, yet familiar enough to be believable.

Q: What role does interaction play in your work?

“I love when viewers physically engage with my installations,” Huang says. “At my last show, a visitor actually bowed to one of the fish, as if it were a sentient being.” She sees humor as a gateway to deeper ideas: “It’s funny at first, but then you start to question why you feel compelled to react that way.”

Q: Any technical challenges?

“Oh, plenty!” she sighs. “The fish have moods, I swear. Some days, they swim perfectly; other days, they sulk. It’s like they decide whether they want to cooperate.”

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interview by yuxuan.