Gangjian Cui

In the 1950s thousands of people moved to the city of Da Qing in Northeastern China, building oil towers and refineries to manufacture plastic. For the people of Da Qing, plastic was more than just an industry, and the struggle of the early plastic manufactures has been immortalised in the myths and legends of the city.

Da Qing is competing with many other industrialized cities in China, each trying to produce more, faster, cheaper, but each uncertain about their post-industrial future.
With oil production predicted to decrease drastically in the next 50 years, their glory could be short lived.

The Rise of the Plasticsmith speculates on China's post-industrial future, envisioning the rise of a new breed of post-industrial workers who will use plastic crafts to tell the glorious history of the industrial age.