Cao Fei's “Asia One” takes viewers to a modern high-tech warehouse in Shanghai staffed by two workers, a smiling pale faced robot and a human.
Video camera's scan their every move whilst they oversee the automated distribution of hundreds of thousands of packages from the warehouse. The near-absence of human workers may feel like the stuff of futuristic science fiction.
The film was shot principally at the location of the newest high tech warehouse of internet giant JD.com, a $48 billion company often sometimes called the Amazon of China. A warehouse where robots handle almost every task.
Ms. Cao’s fixation on economics, labor and development is rare among artists, and I was eager to discuss the plausibility of “Asia One” with someone who had studied China’s industries up close.
16 окт 2024
