Shanzhai Lyric
Incomplete Poem (2015- )
Established in 2015, Shanzhai Lyric investigates global trade networks, informal economies, and the poetics of counterfeit goods. 山寨, or “shanzhai,” translates to “mountain hamlet,” but also means “counterfeit” in contemporary Chinese usage. The group takes inspiration from shanzhai t-shirts produced in China that circulate globally, oftentimes emblazoned with non-standard English phrases expressing a radical disregard for the norms of branding. Through an ever-growing archive of poetry-garments sourced from cities from Hong Kong to New York, Shanzhai Lyric explores the potential of mis-translation and nonsense as utopian world-making (breaking) and has previously taken the form of poetry-lecture, essay, and installation. At the Poetry Project’s 49th Annual New Year's Day Marathon, Shanzhai Lyric read this poem composed of T-shirts from the Incomplete Poem (2015- ) archive.
“Incomplete Poem”
Shanzhai Lyric, "Incomplete Poem", Installation, PS1 Jeenah Moon for The New York Times, 2015-ongoing
Bing Lee, Canal Street Research Association logo, Photo: Daniel Terna. Courtesy Shanzhai Lyric
Sopé Bahké at Canal Street Research Association, Window Cinema season finale, Photo: Constanza Valenzuela. Courtesy Shanzhai Lyric, 2020
Shanzhai Lyric
-
shanzhailyric.info
-
shanzhai.lyric@gmail.com
Shanzhai Lyric is a body of research focusing on radical logistics and linguistics through the prism of technological aberration and nonofficial cultures. The project takes inspiration from the experimental English of shanzhai t-shirts made in China and proliferating across the globe to examine how the language of counterfeit uses mimicry, hybridity, and permutation to both revel in and reveal the artifice of global hierarchies. Through an ever-growing archive of poetry-garments, Shanzhai Lyric explores the potential of mis-translation and nonsense as utopian world-making (breaking) and has previously taken the form of poetry-lecture, essay, and installation. In the fall of 2020, Shanzhai Lyric founded the fictional office entity Canal Street Research Association.