MOUNTAIN VILLAGE

(2017)
30″ single channel video

Sebastian Acker &
Phil Thompson
With an original musical score by Benedict Drew.

Mountain Village 山寨 is the literal translation of the Chinese term Shanzhai which in late-dynastic mythology referred to remote strongholds of bandits operating far from government control. Today Shanzhai is the neologism for counterfeit products which replicate or appropriate branded consumer products. But Chinese copy culture isn’t limited to fake phones or computers. Recent years have also seen the Eiffel Tower, parts of the UK and even entire towns being replicated in China. These ‘copy towns’ are not theme parks but residential property developments built for actual communities.

The 30min. video literally revolves around a famous mountain village: Hallstatt, Austria which was replicated in south Chinas Guangdong Province in 2012. The footage, which captures the property developments architecture and life along with it’s artificial lake and alpine backdrop, is juxtaposed with the Austrian original and several other simulacra across China including Thames Town near Shanghai, several Eiffel Towers and Dafen Painting Village where a large percentage of the worlds fake oil paintings are created. Going beyond the original/copy dichotomy the video examines the European locations and shows how their own architectural and cultural history is performed and mediated by the tourism industry, ultimately negotiating the entangled narratives which are co-created by the Chinese imitations and their European precedents.

The Project is supported by:
Arts Council England
Ideas Tap
Slade School of Fine Art

Mountain Village 山寨 (2017), trailer

Mountain Village 山寨 (2017), video still