Blood Child — Mengna Da

Mengna Da

BLOOD CHILD

Scrolly-telling, Visual Design, Three.JS, Web Development, 360 Dome Projection
2024/26

A web-based interactive storytelling piece, later adapted into an immersive video installation. It centers around a "monster" created from menstrual blood. Through an infinite-looped journey, you will traverse the creature’s birth and unbirth, experiencing the interconnections of birth and death, the self and the other.

The writing and visual design are inspired by Mary Shelley's original Frankenstein and the author's life experience as a pioneer female writer while being an "unlawful" mother with multiple miscarriages and deaths of children.

Enter the playable experience here (3-5 mins, best on desktop/laptop and with sound and camera on).

Shown as a 360-degree immersive video installation at B-Dome, Berlin, 2026

concept & research

"Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley," by Mark Summers, 1989. Taken at New York Public Library.

“I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion.”

These are the final words of the "monster" in Mary Shelley's 1818 Gothic novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. While the novel is widely recognized as a cornerstone of modern sci-fi and a timeless critique of technology, its deeper roots often go unnoticed – particularly Shelley’s own complex with motherhood, which profoundly influenced the creation of this masterpiece.

My research delves into literary analysis and biographical exploration of Mary Shelley. Frankenstein was written when she was just 18, shortly after losing her first-born child. Throughout her life, Shelley had multiple pregnancies, miscarriages, and the deaths of her children, all while being an unmarried, “illegitimate” mother. Additionally, her own mother passed away giving birth to her. This is how the "monster" was born. The novel is thus both a birth myth and a maternal horror.

writing & storyboard

Drawing inspiration from Frankenstein, I imagined a “monster” born from menstrual blood – the monthly shedding of uterine lining, tissues, and blood – a potent metaphor for the cycles of decay and renewal.

This concept naturally led me to write a monologue from the monster’s perspective, detailing its birth. I was also inspired by Anna Swir’s poem, “Women Unborn” to explore the inverse experience: what would it be like to be “unborn”?

I ended up writing a narrative poem, borrowing Frankenstein’s Gothic, melodramatic tone and incorporating its symbolism such as the “fallen angel” and “lost paradise.”

To capture the cyclical nature of birth and unbirth (or death), I created an “infinite-looped” storyboard, mapping out a story that never truly ends – just like life and death.

visual design, web development, and sound

From the outset, I aimed for the visual style to be somatic and impactful – potentially challenging, yet thought-provoking. I chose a metallic red as the dominant color and organic shapes to evoke the bodily nature of the story:

The visual design process ran in tandem with the web development, utilizing Three.js (a JavaScript library for creating 3D graphics and animations in web browsers). For smooth navigation through the cycle of birth and unbirth, I chose scrolling as my main interaction. I also integrated the GSAP library and The New York Times’ Three Story Control to create smooth scrolling animations, particularly to convey the feeling of traveling through a tunnel.

After the first playtest, a few people suggested to incorporate sound to enhance the immersive experience. A happy coincident is that my peer artist and musician Chienn Tai was also working on a menstruation-related piece. Chienn generously contributed recordings of her menstrual cramps, which became an invaluable addition to BLOOD CHILD, deeply enriching its sensory experience.

2024 ITP Winter Show

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Mengna Da