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Shenzhen is China’s first Special Economic Zone, aimed at setting industry and trade for mainland China at the forefront of the world stage. My visit there was spent mostly in the city’s port areas, filled with evidence of the development boom, with contrasting visits to Window of the World, a theme park housing miniature versions of international landmarks and feats of engineering, and Dafen Village, a suburb comprised primarily of artists studios dedicated to the replication of Western classical artworks.

The dichotomy of the triumphant image of China’s own achievement and the sites celebrating a romantic view of contributions by the West throughout history illustrate the complex dynamic between western and eastern ideals of progress and the long historical precedent for romanticism of industrialization.

This installation places manufactured and handmade reproductions of iconic images similar to those seen at Window of the World and Dafen Village against each other in a celebratory fashion, exploring the lines between tradition and progress, as well as the blending of perspectives and histories through transnationalism.