Experts say we’re living in a Chinese (or Asian) century. Due to growth in China, India, and ASEAN countries, Asian nations are set to dominate global politics, economics, and culture.
It’s tempting to agree, especially as someone who lives in Asia. But speak to young people here worried about narrowing opportunities or economic precarity, and you might find their anxieties about the future are similar to their Western counterparts.
Ironically, the idea that we’re living in the “Asian century” is (and was) most often touted by Westerners. D.C. think-tank types and journalists at The Economist often championed the idea in the 2010s, but read any cyberpunk text or the most popular philosophers in Silicon Valley, and the future we imagine is always “Asian.”
But at a post-internet art party in Hong Kong, some artists are questioning this narrative.
I spent some of art week hanging out with artist
@brozm and curators
@rafiabdulla.apt and
@angelaliuuu (of the
@niche.stitution ), talking about accelerationism, Lee Kuan Yew, Nick Land, and ideas of time in Daoist tradition. All of this comes together in “HEX STATE SERVER,” available to view at
@squarestreetgallery until May 2nd.
There are widespread projections that the future is pre-determined—that one day, we will arrive at a global collapse, the Protestant Rapture, an AI singularity, or even a future where Asia reigns supreme. But for Brandon, Rafi, and Angela the future is never fixed, and what matters most is the world we want to create.
