Meanwhile In China

Meanwhile in China is a multimedia installation by the fictional duo Sai Bao and Yang Mu (S()fia Braga and Matthias Pitscher).

The work examines the Chinese social network Douyin, known internationally as TikTok, which operates within China’s tightly regulated digital ecosystem and the so-called Great Firewall, a complex system of technological filtering and legislation controlling domestic internet traffic. As one of the world’s most influential platforms, Douyin is shaped by both algorithmic recommendation and state governance.

At the center of the installation is an eight-hour loop of screen-captured Douyin content. Preserving the original interface, the artists present found videos without alteration, removing them from their algorithmic flow and relocating them into the exhibition space. By accessing the app from different locations, at different times, and through multiple accounts, they attempt to trace variations in the feed, probing the platform’s mechanisms and testing the limits of its digital borders.

The stream, ranging from light entertainment to nationalist propaganda, reveals how recommendation systems, censorship protocols, and user behavior intertwine. Certain search terms trigger blocks or filtered results, suggesting automated image and facial recognition as tools of control.

Behind the screen, a collage of unlabeled graphs visualizes Douyin’s explosive growth. Detached from their explanatory function, the data sets become abstract forms, mirroring the opacity of the systems they represent.

Relocating the endlessly scrolling feed into the slowed temporality of the gallery, Meanwhile in China makes visible the invisible architectures shaping contemporary digital life.

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