A Wanderer on the Science Island

Description

‘A Wanderer on the Science Island’ is a lecture performance by artist Zijie whose research on the medium of Chinese word processing delves into the relationship between computer technology, writing, power, and capital. Starting from the late 1980s, when consumer computers were introduced to offices and homes, the digitisation of typewriting and machine input coincided with epochal political and economic changes in China and the world at large. Through the lens of media archaeology, Zijie asks critical questions about this legacy in our contemporary condition: How is the advent of digital technology entangled with the origin of neo-liberalism? How does the shift from writing with pen and paper to typing on the keyboard indelibly alter our cultural consciousness and the relationship between human and machine?