Exploring the proposition that (pace Helen Macfarlane, Marx’s first English language translator of Capital) ‘a hideous labubu is haunting Europe – the proletariat’, Boom, Labubu explores refunctioning of the commodity and the détournement of soft power as a way to talk about genocide when it’s been made illegal to speak out.

[FREE P*LESTINE *CTION]

The song as presented is a hypothetical and minimal iteration of the project’s maximal programme, which was to provide Dua Lipa and Charli xcx with material for a new collab that could shift the Overton Window a little for opposition to Zionist subsumption of western (and not so western) culture, in solidarity with the Palestinian cause and emancipation of Chinese and UK workers.

  
英文名称 Southwest University School of Journalism and Communication, Chongqing April 28, 2026

‘Lecture Review | Benedict Seymour: Hypothetical Imagery—Reflexive  Reconstruction in the Platform Context Reconstruction in the Platform Context

On the morning of April 28, 2026, the college held an academic lecture entitled "Hypothetical Imagery: Reflexive Reconstruction in the Platform Context" in Lecture Hall 301. Benedict Seymour from Goldsmiths, University of London, was invited as the keynote speaker, and Ms. Zhang Xiaojuan served as the translator. The lecture was moderated by Professor Zhang Hua, and the atmosphere was very lively with active participation from faculty and students.



In his lecture, Professor Si Mo systematically analyzed the new changes in video creation on social media platforms, using the contemporary digital media environment as a starting point. He pointed out that with the continuous strengthening of platform mechanisms, the production, dissemination, and reception of images are gradually being reshaped by algorithmic logic and capital structures. Against this backdrop, images are no longer merely one-dimensional tools of expression, but have become a complex practice embedded in the platform system, capable of both reflection and response . This led him to propose the concept of " platform capitalism . " Professor Si Mo presented several works, including * You Make Me Feel So (1917) * and * Boom, Labubu! *, using examples from his own creative work, and explained in detail his creative ideas and methodologies. In these works, historical images, online materials, and popular culture elements are reassembled, forming new narrative structures through cross-temporal dialogue. He emphasized that this creation is not simply collage or appropriation, but rather an exploration of an expression that lies between fiction and reality, constantly testing the relationship between images and reality.

In addition, Professor Si Mo shared various possible paths for contemporary video creation from a practical perspective , suggesting that the integration of music, text, and visual elements can allow works to not only respond to social issues but also maintain an open and flexible form of expression . At the end of the lecture, Professor Si Mo engaged in an interactive discussion with the faculty and students present on issues such as video creation and international exchange.



This lecture focused on cutting-edge issues in the contemporary media environment and film practice, providing students with a new perspective on understanding the creative logic of the digital age and expanding the academy's ideas for teaching and research in the field of new media art.

Text and photos by Ye Cong
Initial review: Zhang Hua
Reviewed by: Zheng Ting
Final review: Long Wei’

In lovely blue

with Xiaojuan Zhang, 2022