折枝

A short animated film imbued with the Eastern aesthetics of Zhuangzi's butterfly dream, a pioneering work exploring the cyclical fate of Eastern women. Created single-handedly by a Chinese student from Nanjing who graduated from Pratt Institute's animation program in New York, this 2D animated short titled "CAGE'折枝" is a mind-bending, multi-layered dream within a dream, blurring the lines between reality and illusion. A strikingly beautiful woman, embodying Eastern elegance, moves with ethereal grace, yet remains trapped in a destiny weighed down by heavy shackles. She is both the observer of the painting and the caged bird; she is the figure holding the tray within the painting, and also the offering upon it.