Artist: Ting Zhou

Digital Technician: Rei Feng

Immersive Animation (VR) and Data Visualization 

The two-body problem, where families are forced to live apart so that both partners may work is a deeply challenging reality for many of us in academia. For mothers with young children this burden weighs especially heavily. Raising children demands time, energy, patience and unconditional love to sustain their daily routines. When one parent is absent, the other is left to carry the weight alone. In this project, I draw from my experience using two years of data tracking the number of days my two young children were able to see their father and the minutes they spend communicating through online chats or phone calls. These numbers represent not just physical distance but also the emotional gaps created by our separation. 

Through immersive animation (VR) and data visualization, I show the profound weight of this separation, particularly on young children. A family grows together through mutual support in our shared moments. Yet, the two-body problem forces us apart.   

As faculty, we contribute to our fields of study and our institutions, but we are also human beings embodied in place and time and human relations. My hope is that this work fosters empathy and conversation about the sacrifices families make while navigating the two-body problem in academia. I invite audiences to reflect not only on the parents who endure these challenges but also on the children who quietly bear their weight.