Field Research in Guiyu, Guangdong, China
Guiyu (贵屿), located in Guangdong Province, China, is a small town of just over 50 square kilometers that was once the largest electronic waste recycling hub in the world. E-waste refers to electronic products that have reached the end of their useful life.
The processing of e-waste involves several steps: first, dismantling and sorting to separate different components, such as metals, plastics, and other valuable materials. Next, the separated components undergo either chemical or mechanical processing to extract valuable materials like gold, silver, and copper.
Guiyu was a destination for e-waste from around the globe, leading to the proliferation of numerous unregulated small-scale waste processing workshops. Mountains of discarded electronic components accumulated, resulting in significant environmental pollution. DAI saw Guiyu as a key entry point for studying discarded electronic materials and for further examining and collecting materials that cannot be fully processed by industrial methods. During the field trip to Guiyu, the artist aimed not only to understand the environmental pollution issues associated with electronic waste on a macro level but also to study how this industry impacts the daily lives of local people on a micro level.
Guiyu functions like a vast, intricate electronic system, where each workshop acts as a signal port within this network. Observations in Guiyu revealed how the local economy is intricately tied to the recycling of electronic waste. Despite external labels such as “electronic waste capital” or “garbage empire,” Guiyu is merely one link in the global chain of electronic waste recycling and production. The locals are deeply invested in the economic value of these materials, often viewing them not as waste, but as valuable resources.
Field trip in Guiyu, Guangdong
Photo credit: DAI Shengjie
Field Research in Chentian, Guangdong, China
Chentian car parts market (陈田汽配城), located in Guangzhou, China, is a bustling hub where car parts—often salvaged from scrapped, accident-damaged, or smuggled vehicles—are traded. The chaotic yet systematic nature of this market, where items ranging from car sensors to entire engine blocks are repurposed, has inspired the artist to rethink how materials are classified and valued.
Through this process, the artist has come to understand her position within the framework of colonial difference. Waste arriving in places like Chentian, Guiyu, and other regions in South Asia and Africa often originates from the US, UK, and the European Union, both legally and illegally. As the artist explores the global implications of waste and materiality, there is a growing awareness of how her work is situated within broader structures of capitalism and ecological colonialism. Field trips to locations such as Guiyu and Chentian have deepened the artist's understanding of how these structures operate and how they can critically engage with them through her art.
Field trip in Chentian car parts market, Guangzhou
Photo credit: DAI Shengjie
Field Research in Ma Chang, Shanghai
Ma Chang (马场), located in a suburban district of Shanghai, is an art logistics and production company specializing in the construction and fabrication of art exhibitions.
During the artist‘s three-month residency working in the company’s warehouse, it became evident that after dismantling exhibitions in museums or galleries, workers used their expertise to determine which materials could be resold and which were deemed "useless" or of "no economic value." The waste from exhibitions often defies conventional recycling systems, existing in a state that is neither fully usable nor entirely worthless. These materials, categorized as "too wasteful to discard but too insignificant to keep," were frequently abandoned for extended periods.
Ma Chang, Shanghai
Artist working in the warehouse
Additionally, DAI Shengjie also participated in exhibition deinstallations with art handlers, collecting materials that could not be recycled (photos see next page). This experience deepened her interest in exploring the origins and afterlife of waste materials and understanding their broader implications within global production and consumption networks.
The Power Station of Art (PSA), Shanghai
Artist collecting materials during deinstallations