Online creation
TAOBAO-MEDIA - KIM LAUGHTON
As part of Futurs non conformes #3
From 31 May to 31 October 2017
Taobao-Media by Kim Laughton is part of the exhibition “Futurs non-conforme#3” proposed by Nicolas Maigret and Maria Roszkowska for the Jeu de Paume virtual space.
Taobao is China’s largest online shopping site. Similar to eBay, Taobao facilitates consumer-to-consumer retail, and is known for listing practically everything there is to buy. Launched just 12 years ago, this gigantic product search engine and database has had a tremendous impact on Chinese consumers’ buying habits and lifestyles. Netizens like to call it the “Omnipotent Taobao.” The majority of Taobao sellers are individual entrepreneurs and small businesses. This entrepreneurship is reflected in Taobao’s visual media, be it the cheap and tacky graphics in product listings or low-res cellphone photos taken by sellers in their homes or factories. Shanghai-based artist Kim Laughton’s project Taobao-media is an ongoing archive of odd and surreal product images he finds on the website. Through these decontextualized visual puzzles, a narrative of contemporary China’s manufacturing economy and consumer culture comes into view. It also reveals the signs of future technological imaginaries.
Kim Laughton
Kim Laughton is a media artist living in Shanghai. He uses applications such as 3DSMAX to create his 3D realities, formulating scenes and objects that sit between hyper-reality and the uncanny. He creates art videos and blogs like taobao-media.tumblr.com and endgadget.tumblr.com.