Reimagining Affection in a Changing Shanghai

The article examines the dynamics of space surrounding Shanghai’s rampant urban change as experienced by Chinese artistic duo known Birdhead. Underpinned conceptual framework “affective turn”, this study reflects upon and addresses how photographer’s chaotic photo-essay new state housing (Xincun, New Village, 2008) can function a nexus place-making. With claim to impetuous emotion in his works, Birdhead’s contemporary photography pervades plane subjects, objects, affections, which city is imagined space-body performativity. Understanding everyday practices performative, we that visual performance these photographs not just materially shapes bodies, but also acts rhizomatic catalyst for both things-in-themselves webs social affection inside outside Shanghai. As contribution, article’s theoretical application networks unruly frenzied emotional tactics challenges official formulation realism. More importantly, their apprehends territorializes elements anarchy, at very same time deterritorializing omnipresent affective strategies propagandistic post-socialist apparatus pressures positive over “other” representations