shooting a catalogue at 'box tray', a re-packaging company on the outskirts of qingdao.. in the middle-of-nowhere-china, products are imported, picked, processed, and put into fashionable pvc containers and galvanised metal cans for trendy euro-shoppers. even i am part of the 'made in china' program - a north american studio would cost a proportionately more extravagant amount of cash to put together such an archive of designer spices and soaps. what your 'jamie oliver' and 'body shop' gift packs don't mention, is though the contents might be conceived in a bucolic italian countryside, the thing that persuaded you to part with your euros is put together by an assemblage of rural chinese girls. all for the equivalent expense of a lunch at the café. speaking of which, this was snapped whilst sipping lavazza and chewing on english apricot biscuits. the world is a very tiny space.

Labels: 2007, photos

though the title of this bbc article reads like an oxymoron, it does show how having substance over style in china is not something easily appreciated - talk about shooting yourselves in the foot again, chinese censors.. 'lost in beijing' is a wonderful little independent film. download and share if it's not available in your neck of the smokestacks. ..on a related note, i finally watched the full version of li ang's 'lust, caution', which is also definitely not for the kiddies or censor board goonies either.. click the photo below for more on the saga.

Labels: 2007