Last Call by Hong Kong and New York-based filmmaker Winnie Cheung, a 2023 Digital Diasporas recipient returning to Australia, transforms 4A LAB into an intimate, dreamlike environment. 

Soft drapings, deep red and magenta lighting, floor-based seating, and handcrafted fabric vines create a surreal space that echoes the emotional landscape of Cheung’s short film Last Call. Visitors encounter a mirrored projection of themselves within a vast primordial tapestry, offering an immersive moment of self-observational meditation. The installation explores our place within the universe, revealing the intimate and infinite connection between self and cosmos. Using techniques such as the Pepper’s Ghost illusion, the work bridges ancient storytelling traditions with contemporary technology, inviting reflection on transformation, identity, and the fragile boundaries between pleasure and pain, beauty and the grotesque.

The film is accompanied by light and sound installations created in collaboration with Bethany Yeap, Yinuo Chen, and Daniel Rosato.

About the short film:
Last Call, which had its world premiere at the 2025 SXSW Midnight Short Program, blends body horror, psychological trauma and cultural identity. The film follows Claudia, a young woman confronting trauma and reclaiming power from the monstrousness projected onto her. With a feminist twist on the horror genre, Last Call explores themes of transformation, immigration and female agency, making it a bold addition to contemporary horror cinema.