IN-PERSON London Heritages. Section A

Abstract

This practice-based presentation combines a short lecture with curated documentary excerpts to explore how filmmaking re-presents cultural heritage through the lenses of labour, everyday life, and digital mediation. Drawing on four documentaries I have produced between 2016 and 2025—focusing on artefact restoration, architectural conservation, mural preservation, and porcelain-making—the talk reflects on heritage as lived process rather than static display. Special focus is given to architectural and mural restoration, highlighting the labour behind China’s built heritage. These films trace how craftspeople work with space, surface, and decay, navigating tensions between historical fidelity, environmental vulnerability, and cultural tourism. Grounded in visual anthropology, cultural heritage theory, and everyday life theory, the project applies reflexive filmmaking, content analysis, and audience reception studies to examine how heritage is represented, experienced, and circulated. The 2–4 short trailers (under 2 minutes each) illustrate how documentary captures the tactile and temporal dimensions of heritage work. The presentation also addresses the films’ digital afterlife, showing how online platforms have given new public visibility to traditional knowledge and heritage practices. Ultimately, the session offers a visually rich, practice-based contribution to global heritage discourse, with particular relevance for architectural and socio-cultural heritage in contemporary contexts.