Last August, my studio in “Iowa”, an artist compound in the Caochangdi Village in Beijing, was forcibly demolished. Beijing municipal government has implemented a large-scale policy to develop certain areas in 2017, and hundreds of thousands of people had been displaced. Since then, my life has entered a state of uncertainty. Slowly I calmed down, and every time I came to a place where I could sense something special, I made use of the items on the spot, maybe branches or debris discarded by people, and made a tent like this, a pyramid conical structure. Like a little “shrine”, sheltering my heart.
About the filmmaker
The CITYMAKERS Virtual Walks Project investigates fundamental themes of life in cities and on the countryside that are as relevant for people living in China as for those living in Berlin or any other European city. 20 people have taken part and created amazing video walks! Watch them here!
Following issues on Green life in Berlin. From Kleigartenanlage Am Volkspark e.V., Interkultureller Garten Lichtenberg up to Vattenfall Wärme Berlin AG. Berlin has given several answers on how to live a green way. A film by Yilan Zeng.
This video-walk focuses on the theme of walls and hutong communities from the Forbidden City to Beijing’s Qianmen (前门) during the summer of 2020 when the corona epidemic has not yet ended. A film by Li Xin.
Shanghai and Berlin have change a lot in the last three decades due to gentrification but even more with speculation. How do cities transform over time in Shanghai and Berlin? What does that look like very practically? Who drives the urban transformation? A film by Fanny Hoffmann-Loss, Annette Erpenstein, Mickey Xu.