Denoise

Single-channel video, 33 min 9 secs.

Commissioned and supported by Guangdong Times Museum Media Lab

Denoise (2022) is an essay film about sand, noise, and the “arid world”. The “arid world” refers to the marginalized areas that often fall into drought. People are made aware of its existence by violent sandstorms and this “arid world” is perceived as noise.

If noise is seen as useless in the broad sense, as an element that produces interference, then the definition and removal of noise are manifestations of power and capital, whether in dust control, satellite maps, sound or 3D graphic renderings.The film’s images are composed of a series of computer interfaces. In Denoise, Dan Li talks about her dream and experience of the “arid world” and captures noise from different platforms and media and collects groups, sounds, and events that are currently being ‘de-noised’, seeking out interlocking threads and commonalities among them. The essay film presents this process, and Li’s narration allows viewers to follow her train of thought and gradually explore different states of noise.