Changbai Spring 2025: de/re-territorialization
Heaven Lake, Changbai Mountain. Satellite image, 2019. © Google and Maxar Technologies. Logotype designed by Xiaoma and Chengzi.
Changbai Spring 2025
de/re-territorialization
A Research Residency and Publication Project
5.6-16, 2025
Northeast Asia Art Archive
Yanbian, Jiling Province, China
There is the twofold movement of decoding or deterritorializing flows on the one hand, and their violent and artificial reterritorialization on the other.
Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia[1]
Changbai Mountain stands at the junction of China's three northeastern provinces (Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang) and the Ryanggang province in North Korea. Called Paektu Mountain in North Korea, it is like a white giant overlooking the vast territory of Northeast Asia. From the perspective of satellite imaging, Heaven Lake, which was formed by a volcanic eruption in the Quaternary about 2.6 million years ago, is like a deep dark eye, sending out "heavenly questions" to the creator. Over the long stretch of geological time, human beings hunted and gathered with the support of mountains, sowed and plowed fertile soil formed by volcanic ash, were nomadic over grasslands, filled their bellies with fish from rivers and the sea, and thrived on this land from generation to generation. They constructed their lives according to nature, creating customs and cultures through reliance on local conditions. Then, these people condensed into nations and states in order to claim land rights and political power and launched wars for the resources as well as the conquest of culture. These countless events were recorded to form a "history," and this enculturation of history, coupled with long-term cultural immersion, has strengthened awareness of this land as its people's own living territory, making it a unique human idiographic and geographical unit, a process of territorialization.
Approaching human history from distant geological time, but also from recent times, territorialization can be seen as a continuous and repeated process. When Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari put forward the concepts of deterritorialization and reterritorialization for the first time in their philosophical work Anti-Oedipus, they were criticizing late capitalism. Deterritorialization and reterritorialization can then be understood to be an almost simultaneous displacement of historical territorialization, driving the operation of the capitalist desire machine and leading to schizophrenia. These two concepts were later applied, in historical anthropology, to the study of diasporic cultural adaptation. To adapt to local living conditions, immigrants will gradually give up the older familiar languages, customs, cultures and social relations, and acquire new ones. With the extension of settlement time, they will also produce new regional identities. This is the simultaneous process of deterritorialization and reterritorialization.[2] However, with the rise of multiculturalism, these two concepts can face complex challenges when explaining diasporic phenomena.
Territorialization was developed as a concept in political geography to define national territory and Lebensraum.[3] After Deleuze and Guattari first used the terms deterritorialization and reterritorialization, geographers continued to use them to construct a theory of regionalism. Especially after the practice of urban renewal arose, the concepts of deterritorialization and reterritorialization became powerful academic tools to analyze the redistribution of social resources by state power, and the dismantling and reorganization of social relations by real estate capital.[4] The Changbai Spring research residency program, de/re-territorialization, attempts to grapple with how to break through stereotypes of Northeast China and even Northeast Asia from the perspective of culture and art, and discuss concepts of cultural nativity and locality, of this geographical region against the background of a globalization that has led to increased mobility and a double compression of time and space––to construct a new cultural subjectivity and regional identity.
The earliest geographical mapping of Changbai Mountain took place in 1709. Jesuit missionaries Jean Baptiste Regis, Pierre Jartoux and Xavier Fridelli, appointed by the Kangxi Emperor, were the first Europeans to set foot on Changbai Mountain.[5] Their latitudinal and longitudinal maps were included in the woodcut Kangxi Imperial Atlas of China in 1717, which can be said to be the Qing empire's own record of territorialization. Changbai Mountain stretches for more than 8,000 square kilometers, with the main vein shared by Jilin Province and Ryanggang Province, the remaining veins continuing on to Liaoning Province, Heilongjiang Province and the Korean peninsula. It is the birthplace of the Songhua River, the Yalu River and the Tumen River. Its nourishing culture has also flowed from the core area to Liaoning and Heilongjiang, the Korean peninsula, eastern Inner Mongolia and even to the far east of Russia, forming a ripple-like circle. It is not only a landmark of Northeast Asia, but also a sample of the cultural ecology of the region.
Northeast Asia, as the birthplace of both the (Mongol) Yuan empire that conquered Eurasia and the Qing regime that entered the Central Plains, as well as where Japan developed the colony of Manchukuo, has always been of concern to historians. The territories of China, Korea, Japan, Russia, and Mongolia are also regarded as important points from which to observe geopolitical activity. However, academic research has long focused on the political and economic dimensions of Northeast Asia, and little attention has been paid to the interactive practices of its ecologies, cultures, arts, and multiple ethnic communities. The Changbai Spring project is intended to fill this gap. The residency is located in the settlement of historically Korean immigrants in Jilin Province, China. It is also close to the locus of Heaven Lake. The project will focus on field investigations and research, but its attention will cover northeast China and the whole of Northeast Asia. In spring, the invited artists and scholars with Northeast Asian backgrounds and the signed-up research fellows will gather at the banks of Heaven Lake to discuss the big questions: Why am I here? What do I bring to humanity? What has humanity brought me?
The research residency is conceived by OU Ning (founder of ISOGLOSS Academy) and LI Jiaqi (founder of NAAA), with more than 20 invited participants including:
Irina Botea Bucan and Jon Dean (RO/US/GB), artist, professor at School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Chi Li'an (CN), researcher
Yuan Fuca (CN/US), curator
Geng Jun (CN), filmmaker
Gu Tao (CN), filmmaker
He Ping (CN), literary critic, professor at Nanjing Normal University
Haeju Kim (KR/SG), senior curator and head of residencies at Singapore Art Museum
Li Yong (CN), photographer
Li Zhiji (CN), dean of School of Architecture, Jilin Architecture University
Liang Chen (CN), architect and artist
Liu Chuanhong (CN), artist
Liu Yan (CN), scholar of cultural studies
Aki Onda (JP/US), composer, sound artist
Kyong Park (KR/US), founder of Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York; professor at University of California San Diego
Pan He (CN), researcher
Piao Zhengji (Jeongkil Park) (CN), local zoologists and wildlife biologist
Hankil Ryu (KR), musician, sound artist
Song Nianshen (CN), historian at Tsinghua University
Sun Haiting (CN), photographer
Wang Tuo (CN), artist
Brian Kuan Wood (US), co-founder of e-flux, editor of e-flux Journal
Yan Jun (CN), musician, poet
Yang Zhihan (CN), fiction writer
Mia Yu (CN), artist and curator
Zeng Han (CN), photographer and artist
Zhang Meng (CN), filmmaker, director of The Piano in a Factory
Zhang Wenzhi (CN), artist
Zhang Xianmin (CN), professor of Beijing Film Academy
Zhang Xiao (CN), photographer and artist
Zhou Haicheng (CN), local botanist
We welcome the signed-up research fellows to have mutual learning practices with us. The residency is limited to 20 participants, applicants are invited to join an information session (April 13, 11am-12pm, China Standard Time) about the program. Submit your detailed information here.
Accepted visiting research fellows are required to pay a $3,000 participation fee, which covers hotel accommodations, all meals, local travel and transportation, as well as costs including but not limited to ticketing, translation, and materials/supplies for the full duration of the program from May 6 to May 16. Participants will only be responsible for their round-trip flights to and from China.
Changbai Mountain. Photo: Zeng Han. Logotype designed by Xiaoma and Chengzi. © Northeast Asia Art Archive
Schedule
May 6 Tuesday, 2025
Introduction
Arrival, Welcome Dinner, 19:30 - 21:30
Northeast Asia Art Archive, Erdaobaihe
Northeast Asia Art Archive, Erdaobaihe.
May 7 Wednesday, 2025
Field Trips, 9:00-13:00
Natural Habitat of Changbai Mountain: The Memetics of Biodiversity
Led by Zhou Haicheng, Piao Zhengji(Jeongkil Park)
Hanconggou Ecological Park and the Forest near Heping Ski Resort
Piao Zhengji (Jeongkil Park), Ou Ning and Zhou Haicheng in Erdaobaihe.
Field Trips, 15:00-17:00
Village Voice: A Listening Practice
Yonghong Village, Antu County
Screenings, 19:00-21:00
Mia Yu
Eme Cosmos, 2024, 4K video (color, stereo sound), 23’00’’
Amber, 2024, 4K video (color, stereo sound), 9’00’’
Northeast Asia Art Archive, Erdaobaihe
Mia Yu, Eme Cosmos, 2024, 4K video.
May 8 Thursday, 2025
Field Trip
Past and Present of Gando: Diasporization and Identification
Led by Xia Youzhao
Yanbian Mueum, Jingquan Village, Former Gando Consulate General of Japan, Changcai Village, Mingdong Village, Yuliangtian, Former Kangshantun Station, Former Workers Club, China-North Korea borderline
Kanshantun Railway Station.
May 9-12 Friday-Monday, 2025
Co-laboring, 13:00-14:00 everyday
Cuoluozi: A Shelter
Designed and led by Liang Chen
The second-floor terrace of Zhongxiang Building, Erdaobaihe
The new Cuoluozi designed by Liang Chen.
The traditional Oroqen Cuoluozi.
May 9 Friday, 2025
Dongbei Renaissance: New Arts of Storytelling
He Ping, Ou Ning, Yang Zhihan
Northeast Asia Art Archive, Erdaobaihe
Yang Zhihan.
Performance, 14:30-16:00
Aki Onda, Yanbian Cassette Memories
Summer Palace, Erdaobaihe
Performance, 19:00-20:00
Hankil Ryu and Yan Jun, Interface: Traction and Repulsion
Northeast Asia Art Archive, Erdaobaihe
Seminar, 20:00-22:00
Phonographic Yanbian: Field Recording and Sound Making
Aki Onda, Ou Ning, Hankil Ryu, Yan Jun
Northeast Asia Art Archive, Erdaobaihe
Aki Onda working in Erdaobaihe.
May 10 Saturday, 2025
Seminar, 9:00-12:00
Pictorial Dongbei: Archiving and Dearchiving
Sun Haiting, Li Yong, Zeng Han, Zhang Xiao
Northeast Asia Art Archive, Erdaobaihe
Zhang Xiao working in Tieling.Seminar, 9:00-12:00
Seminar, 14:30-17:30
The Historical Gaze and Rewritings on Northeast Asia
Liang Chen, Liu Yan, Mia Yu, Song Nianshen
Northeast Asia Art Archive, Erdaobaihe
Historical Manchurian archive collected by Liang Chen.
Screenings, 19:30-23:00
Wang Tuo
The Northeast Tetralogy
Smoke and Fire, 2018, single channel 4K video (color, sound), 31'17"
Tungus, 2021, single channel 4K video (color, sound), 66’00”
Q&A with Wang Tuo
Zhang Meng
The Piano in a Factory, 2011, feature film, 119’00’’
Northeast Asia Art Archive, Erdaobaihe
Wang Tuo, Tungus, 2021, single channel 4K video.
Zhang Meng, The Piano in a Factory, 2011, feature film.
May 11 Sunday, 2025
Screenings, 9:00-12:00
Geng Jun
The Hammer and Sickle Are Sleeping, 2013, feature film, 53’00”
Gu Tao
Aoluguya Aoluguya, 2007, documentary, 88’00’’
Northeast Asia Art Archive, Erdaobaihe
Geng Jun, The Hammer and Sickle Are Sleeping, 2013, feature film.
Gu Tao, Aoluguya Aoluguya, 2007, documentary.
Seminar, 14:30-17:30
The Immortal and Mortal Coils: Pan-Shamanization and Mythorealism
Geng Jun, Gu Tao, Zhang Meng, Zhang Xianmin
Northeast Asia Art Archive, Erdaobaihe
May 12 Monday, 2025
Seminar 9:00-12:00
The Local Turn: From Globalization to Relocalisation
Irina Botea Bucan+Jon Dean, Haeju Kim, Kyong Park, Brian Kuan Wood
Northeast Asia Art Archive, Erdaobaihe
Seminar, 14:30-17:30
The Contemporary Vernacular: Arts and Regionalism
Yuan Fuca, Liu Chuanhong, Zhang Wenzhi
Northeast Asia Art Archive, Erdaobaihe
Liu Chuanhong, Looking for Plum Trees in Bishan, 2024.
Zhang Wenzhi, Ride the Waves of Whales, 2024.
May 13 Tuesday, 2025
Signed-up Research Fellow Presentations, 9:00-12:00
Northeast Asia Art Archive, Erdaobaihe
Co-laboring, 13:00-17:30
Cuoluozi: A Shelter
Designed and led by Liang Chen
The second-floor terrace of Zhongxiang Building, Erdaobaihe
The second-floor terrace of Zhongxiang Building, Erdaobaihe.
May 14 Wednesday, 2025
Field Trip, 14:00-17:00
Manchurian Utopia: The Historical Architecture of Ultra-Modernism
Led by Liang Chen
The former State Council and its ministries of Manchukuo, Manchukuo Film Association, Japanese Shinto shrine Kenkoku Chureibyo
Hsinking (Changchun)
The Eldest Son of PRC: Soviet-aided Industrialization in Dongbei
Led by Li Zhiji,
China First Automobile Group
Changchun
The State Council of Manchukuo, 1936.
The Mixed Court of Manchukuo, 1938.
May 15 Thursday, 2025
Field Trip, 14:00-17:00
Manchurian Utopia: The Historical Architecture of Ultra-Modernism
Led by Pan He, Mia Yu
The historical Japanese building group of former Naniwa Plaza, the former South Manchuria Railway Company office buildings, Matsushima Hall, Shimono Corporation
Mukden (Shenyang)
The headquarter of South Manchuria Railway Company, 1936.
The Yamato Hotel in Mukden, 1929.
May 16 Friday, 2025
Field Trip, 14:00-17:00
Journey to the Borderland
Led by Liang Chen, Chi Li'an
The Broken Bridge, Aisin-Giro Puyi Palace, Yalu River Art Museum
Antung (Dandong)
Yalu River Broken Bridge and Sinuiju, North Korea.
Wang Luyan’s annual exhibition at Yalu River Art Museum.
Conclusion
Farewell Party, 18:30-21:00
Yalu River Art Museum
The meeting hall of Yalu River Art Museum.
October 18 Saturday, 2025
Northeast Asia Art Archive New York opening
de/re-territorialization New York exhibition and events
April 18 Saturday, 2026
de/re–territorialization publication launch in the next edition of Changbai Spring (2026)
[1] Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, Capitalisme et schizophrénie l'anti-œdipe (Les Éditions de Minuit, 1972). Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia(University of Minnesota Press, 1983), translated by Robert Hurley and Mark Seem.
[2] Michael Szonyi used these two concepts to analyze the "everyday politics" of military households who were recruited to be stationed in different places when studying the implementation of the military system in China in the Ming Dynasty. See Michael Szonyi, The Art of Being Governed: Everyday Politics in Late Imperial China (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017).
[3] German geographer Friedrich Ratzel first put forward the concept of territory in his book Political Geography(1897), and American geographer Thomas Sauer enriched the discussion of territoriality on this basis. See Thomas Sauer, Human Territoriality: Its Theory and History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986).
[4] John Harrison, "Networks of Connectivity, Territorial Fragmentation, Uneven Development: The New Politics of City-regionalism", Political Geography, Volume 29, Issue 1, January 2010, Pages 17-27.
[5] Henry Evan Murchison James, The Long White Mountain; Or A Journey in Manchuria: With Some Account of the History, People, Administration and Religion of that Country (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1888), Pages 265-266.