House of Spirits reflects on worshipping and rituals, asking how spirits can co-exist with the living from an atheist perspective. It is sited in Dachuan, China, a rebuilt village once destroyed by hydraulic projects in the 1960s. Since this forced displacement, the villagers have made constant attempts to rebuild their ancestor shrine in search of reassurance of a lost common identity. The latest attempt was openly denounced and rejected by the central government.

An alternative ritual of worship is proposed that centers around the annual harvest of the crop sorghum, and a set of architectures accommodating the preparation process for a burning ceremony. By replacing the totem, the project sustains the culture of worship, and the community’s attempt to reassert its presence.

As summarised by Durkheim in The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, by worshipping a totem a society worships itself. The spirit for worship is, in a way, the mirror image of man. Perhaps there is no definite answer to the question whether the spirit exists; it exists only when being worshipped, when the rituals are collectively performed, and a community becomes aware of its own existence.