Steve Dehong Sun | Gao Su Du De Qian Jin !: an installation on C&D waste

 
Gao Su Du De Qian Jin! is a shadow art installation that investigates and calls attention to the construction and demolition (C&D) waste problem in China and its relationship with China’s modernization. With the fast urbanization throughout China, the C&D waste has become a major contributor to China’s waste production. However, this connection between the two is rarely mentioned, instead the attention of the public is steered towards the economic growth and the construction achievements of urbanization with propaganda. This project attempts to uncover this rarely-recognized relationship between China’s urbanization and C&D waste, calling for attention to this problem, by combining and comparing imageries that represent both sides with a sculpture, and presenting the irony that a seemingly prosperous and praised process is rather messy when looked at from another perspective.
This project consists of a rotating sculpture made from recycled concrete, a series of images of abandoned/torn buildings, as well as a light source that projects red lights on to the sculpture and casts its shadow onto the wall. Modeled from two distinct imageries that represent two sides of China’s C&D waste problem — an “Open and Reform” propaganda poster and a half-torn building — the sculpture rotates slowly while its shadow constantly morphs between those two imageries. A Pinyin transcription of the poster’s title “高速度地前进!” is attached to the bottom of the sculpture and rotates with it, appearing along with the human figure and disappearing when the building is shown. Supporting images of more broken/abandoned buildings are also placed surrounding the main piece.
Through the comparing of the two shadows of the same object, I wish to convey that the seemingly triumphant achievement of China’s urbanization and the problem of C&D waste is two faces of the same issue. The title is also purposefully presented in Pinyin so that its sound is more directly accessible to audiences speaking any language, creating the feeling of chanting empty propaganda languages. While the shadow rotates to the broken building and the line disappears, the audience is invited to think about their place between these two sides of the story and wonder what is the result of such “development at a great speed”.