The Sensation of Time in China’s Urbanizing Environments as Captured by Sponge Gourd Collective’s Video Works

This paper delves into the temporal sensation within China’s evolving urban landscapes through the lens of the artist trio Sponge Gourd Collective. It analyzes two video works capturing the early phases of rural-to-urban transformation, depicting Chinese urbanization as a state of perpetual change, uncertainty, and anticipation. The Anthropocene serves as a backdrop, highlighting the overarching shift in temporal perception in China’s rapid urban development, wherein residents grapple with feelings of powerlessness amidst relentless transformation. Despite the economic progress stimulated by state-driven urbanization, it has also spurred environmental degradation and social disparities, engendering a unique temporal experience within Chinese cities. Utilizing art as a medium for reflection, Sponge Gourd Collective’s visual narratives unravel the temporal layers of urbanization, from future aspirations to past recollections, encapsulating and even embodying the spectral nature of time within the urban fabric. An aesthetic approach that offers avenues for contemplation and understanding amidst the frenetic pace of change.