Hanging out in China is like hanging out in some crazy dystopian future. It’s maybe one of the most obscurely technologically advanced countries in the world. I say obscure, because the Chinese authorities take this technological advancement to a scary level through security and surveillance. From next level phone apps and a futuristic art scene to an almost scary of public security, life in China is starting to look like a potential reality for other parts of the world, where technology is similarly developing alongside increased fears over public security.
Let’s start with the cooler and less creepy stuff. Sadly, the contemporary Chinese art world is a super regulated sphere, which in many ways totally stifles creativity in terms of contemporary national art production- just ask Ai Weiwei, who frequently pushes political boundaries in his works, causing him to be arrested multiple times. As a result of this, many Chinese artists and curators have turned to something that resonates with the local population- technology merged with art. I found that this was particularly prominent in Shenzhen, an economically and technologically flourishing city.
Many current exhibitions either focus on a dystopian, technology based society, or are experimentations in the merging of technology and art. Let’s take The Ecstacy of Time: Reframing the Medium of Knowing, shown at He Xiangning Art Museum, Shenzhen, for example. The show aimed to ponder the problems of individuality in a technological society. Works included Lin Ke’s ‘KeCa’, video art, which uses the computer screen as a window to the outside world and Zhou Yan’s ‘010’, an exploration in recreating memory through 3D printing.
The Imagined Future is not the Future, shown at OCT-LOFT, Shenzhen, takes these ideas further, anticipating the appearance of a society influenced by technology that looks beyond the present, moving beyond the Futurist movement of the early twentieth century. Works included those of Bart Hess, who explores the future of smart technology alongside our primal sexual needs, and those of Heather Dewey-Hagborg, which create portraits of strangers through randomly collected genetic material.
Despite the fact that, by legal requirement, much Chinese art is rarely an honest reflection of Chinese society, the technological realm appears exempt- probably because it makes China looks hella sweet and ignores a tonne of issues in regards to freedom of speech etc. This trend for futuristic, technological based shows is growing globally too- the V&A London is currently showing ‘The Future Starts Here’, which uses technological objects to project our future way of life. The focus on technology in the art world certainly won’t be disappearing, especially as it is becoming more and more prominent in today’s society. I wonder where this will stop- art tends to progress with technology, so I doubt its futuristic focus will slow anytime soon.
Speaking of badass technology, the ultimate has got to be WeChat, a phone app which dominates pretty much every aspect of life in China. Upon first glance its just another chatting app like Whatsapp, where you can send pictures, make calls etc. But oh, even the chatting feature is more than that- you can send voice messages, recall messages and even send money.
The chat feature is just the beginning, another sweet thing about WeChat is that it effectively acts as an electronic wallet. You can use it to pay for things in stores, as well as transfer money to and from your contacts- no more forgetting to pay your way when you split the bill! This futuristic new feature has pretty much rid China of cash, to the point where, when you do pay in cash, often the vendor will appear pretty unhappy to have to count out some change for you. Regardless, compared to many other countries, China appears to be a cashless society, at least in more modern and metropolitan areas.
It doesn’t stop there either- WeChat does pretty much everything. You can play games, book cinema tickets, call taxis, rent bikes, translate menus, the possibilities are endless. An all encompassing app takes convenience to the next level.
Is this a hint at a future cashless world? Apple Pay, for example, is growing outside of China, but doesn’t dominate in the way that WeChat does. Is China ahead of the game? Will the rest of the world catch on soon? We’ve also got to remember that WeChat is far more than just a payment app but all-encompassing- such a thing doesn’t appear to exist outside of China just yet. Will such an app be on the cards for everyone in the future? Its certainly is convenient, and much of the technological development happening today aims to achieve this.
Even the wonderful invention that is WeChat, has one sad flaw- it’s government monitored. Unsurprising, really, in a society where free speech is heavily suppressed and locals are expected to fall in line with designated politics; there is no real demoncratic voting after all. This goes hand in hand with the huge amount of public surveillance on the streets. Security cameras are everywhere, with local police constantly monitoring footage (witnessed this myself when registering my residence and the local police station, a video loop of local streets played on a huge background screen). Is this for personal safety or public control?
Then comes public transport, with its super extra regulations and safety precautions. Before entering the metro, there is a compulsory security check, where your bags and water are scanned. On top of that, more security guards can be found on the platform or carriages. If travelling long distance on trains or buses, your passport or ID is required to purchase a ticket. Granted, there is much less anarchy on the late night trains than there is in Europe, but when riding them on the daily, I always wondered if this really was for safety or for public control. Authority is imposed on every space, not just the metro. Every building has a security guard too. Is China really so dramatically unsafe that this high level of security is required?
I honestly don’t know the answer to this question. This huge focus on public security did have its positives- I never felt unsafe during my time there. This can’t be said about how I feel in some parts of Europe, for example, especially late at night. Many in Europe may also argue that this is totally necessary due to the threat of terrorism, which the media really hypes up, scaring many into a desire for greater security measures. We all want to feel safe, but how much of our privacy are we willing to sacrifice? Do we want the government reading our dirty messages to our partners or looking at our ugly selfies that we send to our besties?
Regardless of these issues, China seems to be ahead of the game, potentially setting the president for the operation of a modern day society. Technology makes life very convenient, regardless of the cost of public privacy. I guess we really have to ask ourselves how much we are willing to sacrifice for our personal privacy. I wonder how exempt these two rhelms would be from one another in countries where freedom of speech is more significant, or if its rapid development will be used by governments for tighter security regardless of designated politics. Will we all just end up like China?
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