In 2014, China announced the epic new silk road 2.0 initiative as a global co-prosperity project. As the factory of the world at that time, it has a gripping power on the material domination of the world, and the vision was to transform itself in the next decade to emerge as the new superpower of the world.
Atlas of the Yellow Magic Era is an art project devoted to observations on the Chinese influences of our future. I am fascinated about the flow of Chinese goods and desires to the rest of the world, and how it soft power infiltrated our everyday lives. From what we eat, what we wear, what we listen to, what we watch and everything around us may be “Made In China” but designed in somewhere else in the world. It is a complex and intriguing process to understand and make sense of the Chinese ambitions.
The project will embark on various expeditions along the trade and logistics superhighway from Yiwu, China, to the western edge of Europe in Madrid.
“Capitalism has a new colour, a yellowing process is taking place, and it changes everything, invisible forces are driving the new order of our future, a future that may already arrived without us knowing. Thus, the questioning of these new norms and new realities are urgent, no matter where and what color we are. ”
A decade since the launch of the New Silk Road 2.0 initiative, the world may have already slipped into the realm of the Yellow Magic Era. Yet, the dominant forces of the West seems reluctant to believe the dynamic shift in global realities. While the West had lingers onto many ideologies still rooted in the resonance of coloniality, they are staring into the possibility of their own eschatology of power and knowledge.
The Atlas of the Yellow Magic Era speculates on the cultural production of a yellow-tinted future, documenting the extraordinary advances of China in technology, science, and economy. We stand on the threshold of an age of automation and intelligence, where emerging phenomenology reshapes human narratives. The Atlas seeks to capture these moments of rupture, the intimate human stories, and the magical moments defining a generation.
Without Dreams Why Yiwu [没有梦想,何必义乌] - is a collection of moving images that traces the world's longest freight rail line stretching from Yiwu - China’s global capital of small commodities - to its final terminus in Madrid’s unofficial Chinatown, Usera. Serving as a visual documentation of the Belt and Road Initiative’s logistical superhighway, the work observes a globalized street culture fundamentally shaped by "Made in China" products and Sinocentric trade networks. The journey traverses niche Chinese enclaves, industrial manufacturing hubs, and vast wholesale marketspaces across the European continent
New Trinity of Prosperity [繁荣新三驾马车] - is inspired by the Taoist tradition of Prosperity Gods, Italian religious tapestries, and the Chinese communities in Prato, Italy - Europe's largest textile and fast-fashion manufacturing hub. This artwork reimagines a new trinity of speculative deities for the people navigating this "Silk Road 2.0," creating a space to worship and manifest future prosperity. Made in collboration with Lin Pei-Ying.
New Trinity of Prosperity(2025) Jacquard woven fabric, dimension 150 × 150 cm - A Commissioned by Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), produced by Choy Ka Fai
Metabolic Valley [代谢谷] - is a documentary project that maps the emotional, physical, and digital landscape of the Shenzhen ecosystem.
The Greater Bay Area is a megalopolis ready to devour the future. Shenzhen stands at the definitive frontier of Chinese technological ambition. Its landscape is defined by the corporate obelisks of BYD, Tencent, Baidu, and DJI . They feel like humming giant server racks reaching for the sky, while bubble tea is delivered by drones in the amber of the sunset. Across Shenzhen Bay, Hong Kong sits like a postcard from yesterday's dreams. Shenzhen is relentless, the future has arrived too rapidly.
This kind of future is exhausting and a profound fatigue weighs on the city. Shenzhen was built in just four decades; nobody here is local, and everyone is a migrant. My curiosity centers on the people, the human narrative that drives this Silicon Valley’s true metabolism.
A technological realism takes shape. An ecosystem of constant circulation of data, aggressive capitalism and crushing solitude. Everything oscillates in unison with the grueling "996" human workforce. Every winter, roughly 100,000 migratory birds flee Siberia for Shenzhen Bay, piercing geopolitical borders in search of refuge. They arrive with hollow bones and frayed feathers, a plight mirrored by the weary eyes watching them from the corporate promenade. Both are tethered to a ruthless instinct for survival that systematically drains life itself. In this exhaustion, the biological phenomenon yields a haunting catharsis for our algorithmic world.
The research and development is supported by The Berlin Senate International Cultural Exchange Grants (Global) 2025.
Half the Sky: Planetary Sisterhood! [姐妹们闹半边天!]
A research project by Choy Ka Fai, created in collaboration with The Cangrejo Pro performance company. Based in Madrid, this collective of Chinese diaspora women has spent years cultivating community and belonging. Since 2018, they have used relational art forms, performances and community gatherings to confront complex questions of identity, heritage, and existence.
The project draws inspiration from Chairman Mao’s famous slogan, "women can hold up half the sky." Originally used to mobilize female labor during the Cultural Revolution, this rallying cry is subverted here into a modern gesture of empowerment and a critical response to history. We dare to speculate on a world where Chinese technology, culture, and economic infrastructure occupy half the planet.
Our research focuses on the female perspective. We are gathering stories from "sisters" of all ages and backgrounds who feel a deep connection living with Spanish culture and identity. Together, we explore how these colliding worlds are shaping our collective future.
The research residency is supported by Goethe Institut Madrid.
Altas of the Yellow Magic Era is a project undertaken by Choy Ka Fai between 2024 to 2034. It aspire to research and document a decade of change and prompt for understanding, critical reportage and intellectual discourse through artistic endeavours.