Tides of Memory: Digital Echoes of Netizen Remembran

Abstract

This artwork presents an interdisciplinary interaction installation that visualizes collective online mourning behavior in China. By focusing on commemorative content posted on Sina Weibo following the deaths of seven prominent Chinese authors, the artwork employs data scraping, natural language processing, and 3D modeling to transform fragmented textual expressions into immersive digital monuments. Through the analysis of word frequencies, topic models, and user engagement metrics, the system constructs a semantic-visual landscape that reflects both authorial legacies and collective memory. This research contributes to the fields of digital humanities, visualization design, and digital memorial architecture by proposing a novel approach for preserving and reactivating collective memory in the digital age.