AN OBTAINABLE THING
Xinya Zhang
Royal College of Art
An Obtainable Thing is a 3-minute-40-second 2D experimental animation exploring the themes of human trafficking and gender-based violence. The film follows a woman who is abducted and taken to a remote world inhabited by fish-like humanoid creatures. Trapped in this unfamiliar environment, she is subjected to violence and gradually forced to become part of it. Through recurring imagery of fish, salmon, and dolls, the film explores the objectification, possession, and assimilation of women. Unstable linework, dramatic shifts in colour, and surreal imagery are used to create a sense of oppression and unease, inviting the audience to reflect on violence, power, and the idea of women being treated as something to be possessed.