PORTFOLIO*
HAOYU YANG
杨皓宇

Feb 12 2026Before Liftoff (2026)Cinematic and Media-Based Installation


A. BEFORE LIFTOFF

Before Liftoff is a pop-up site-specific installation staged in front of the USC AeroDesign Building. Inspired by the white columns at the entrance, which visually resemble a cluster of rockets waiting on a launch pad, the project reimagines an ordinary campus facade as a moment of suspended departure.

Through projected light, atmospheric sound, and spatial framing, Before Liftoff transforms the familiar campus environment into a cinematic pre-launch sequence. Rather than showing the rocket in flight, the project focuses on the seconds before departure — the quiet tension, the physical stillness, and the emotional weight of leaving Earth behind.

<----- Date
February 12, 2026
<----- Location
USC AeroDesign Building
<----- Format
Pop-up site-specific installtion