Xinyi Huang is an interdisciplinary design researcher from China who focuses on exploring the intersection of psychological astrology and spatial relationships.

Three Dimensions of Space

Her core research examines three dimensions of spatial relationships: the inner psychological space, the external physical environment, and the interactions between them. At a deeper level, she explores the tension between the absolute and non-absolute aspects of the concept of “destiny,” and how humans, as active agents, seek autonomy within this tension.

Beyond the Human

Since arriving at the RCA, Xinyi has expanded her research perspective from human-centered to encompass broader networks of life, beginning to focus on relationships between human and non-human beings. With a background in stage and spatial design, she excels at using narrative construction and fictional methods to transform abstract philosophical speculation into perceptible everyday experiences.

The core question she persistently pursues is:

when meaning systems like astrology become institutionalized and charted, are our understandings of free will, emotional connection, and existence itself also invisibly disciplined and constrained? How does space subtly shape our perception of and relationships with others—whether they are animals, objects, or other silent beings?

A Cat’s Misplaced Destiny

Her project 36° is a project that combines short film with research, fictionalizing a social system that embeds birth charts into birth certificates. In this parallel world, a stray cat is mistakenly registered with the same birth time and chart as a girl. Over time, she begins to question the rationality of the entire system and its underlying cultural assumptions.

Through such gentle and poetic narratives, Xinyi explores how institutions re-encode the relational networks between humans and non-humans in the name of care and science.