Northwest Airlines Project revisit and rethink about contemporary China’s tremendous changes in the fields of economic reforms, diplomatic relations and geopolitics as well as the complex relationship between the subject and its external, during the time period from China’s Reform and Opening Up to joining the World Trade Organization, by using the history of civil aviation in China since 1950s as a clue perspective.

 

From here, a number of works with different aspects and threads, including single-channel videos: A Brief History of China Northwest Airlines (2018), which investigates the assets of China Northwest Airlines (1989-2002), a short-lived airline company after its bankruptcy; A Failed Flight: Jiuquan Airport (2018), which is a revisit to the “Jiuquan Airport”, a relic of the brieflyexisted historical period “China-Soviet Civilian Airlines”.

 

The Last Step of Touch Down examines the history of adopting aviation and media technologies from the Soviets and the US during Mao's era. By weaving together facts, historical representations and individual testimonies, the work explores the inextricable tensions between individual lived experiences and the overarching system of bureaucracy, unveils the hidden history that transformed China on the eve of neoliberal globalization. 

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