Ten Thousand Things
Ten Thousand Things brings together short videos drawn from Chinese manufacturing and sales platforms.
Originally made to demonstrate machinery, test materials, and sell products, these recordings also capture unexpected glimpses of workers, factories, and everyday surroundings.
I select and re-edit this footage, drawn to its conjunctions of practical purpose, repetition, humor, and spectacle. Machines dredge, crush, spray, and discharge confetti. People demonstrate what their products can do. Together, the works offer a view of manufacturing through the images made to keep its goods moving.
The title comes from the Daoist phrase “the ten thousand things” (万物), referring to the multiplicity of things that make up the world. Here, it takes on an industrial meaning: the seemingly endless variety of objects manufactured in China and circulated around the globe.
I select and re-edit this footage, drawn to its conjunctions of practical purpose, repetition, humor, and spectacle. Machines dredge, crush, spray, and discharge confetti. People demonstrate what their products can do. Together, the works offer a view of manufacturing through the images made to keep its goods moving.
The title comes from the Daoist phrase “the ten thousand things” (万物), referring to the multiplicity of things that make up the world. Here, it takes on an industrial meaning: the seemingly endless variety of objects manufactured in China and circulated around the globe.
StillsWorking selection, 2026–
Frames drawn from the same material, often carrying the platforms’ own sales language. A first selection; the stills are being developed into larger groups by type.