The valley of the were-rabbit
The urban legends surrounding myxomatosis reaches far beyond its history. Most people link it up to conspiracy theories of a man-made disease. Rabbits used to be the perfect sailing companion-on-a-plate. They bred quickly and can be carried everywhere. It was food on the go, the sandwich of the early explorers. And then, one of the imported rabbits … Read more
Mystery of the Rabbit Factory
Next to an idyllic village on the hills of Catalonia lies a towering dormant bio-factory building that had not been touched for more than ten years. The villagers call it “the rabbit factory”. The building left today is the most typical set-up of a factory complex sitting quietly in a regulated green-belt zone a few … Read more
Factory Harvest Festival
Like any other Chinese organisation, my joystick factory operates in the world of Guanxi transactions of gift-giving. This time last year, my friend at the factory, Xiao Fang invited me to a moon-cake gifting trip. This was a fantastic excuse to snoop into other factories, shipping companies, packaging merchants…how could I possible have resisted? I … Read more
Farmification
Half a year after my first stay in the joystick factory in Shenzhen, I returned to it again this time with a proposal to help them keeping their factory community when joystick demands fade. I persuaded the factory owners to let me try out Farmification – using farming to keep the factory family together when … Read more
Play Farm for Factory Workers
One evening, as I was wondering through the natural forestation surrounding the factory area, I came across what was best described as a farming “village”. It felt surprisingly genuine, maintaining an unusual dignity across a 10 minute walk from the bustle of the factory snack streets and the temple worshipers. I was as enticed. Soon … Read more
Joystick Factory: The Hills Are Alive
In the first few days of my severe jet lag, I would wake up at dawn to climb the mountains to quiz the monks on philosophy before the temperature became sizzling. I became quite familiar with my favourite character here. She’s quite an inventor herself, check out her tin-foil wrapped straw hat. That’s what I … Read more
Joystick Factory: Tranquil Factory?!!
The most noticeable thing about the Joystick factory is that it’s situated at the base of a well-known tourist attraction. Feng Huang mountain has a locally celebrated buddhist temple, attracting thousands of people each day, especially during spiritual festivals. It’s surreal to wake up in an industrial site with all the right noises but the … Read more
Joystick Factory: Romance, Marriage, Family
Migrant workers work away from home. They work, eat and live together. The everyday hardware we use is made with love, literally. A smugly married 23 year-old lady informs me that office romance is as common as pot-noodles, before reminding me that I’m already quite the ‘old maid’. The factory world holds its own rules … Read more
Joystick Factory: Playing at Night
The mouse factory outside my window releases its workers from their night shift. The background noise raises a notch as I realise that workers were reclaiming their space and enjoying their existence. I follow the light and catch workers burning fake money to their ancesters in a small purpose-built shrine. I’m told that this only … Read more
Joystick Factory: Street Soap
A culture of watching soap opera on the street has emerged from a specific social economic condition. Most migrant workers only use lightweight tools for communication, so normally have no access to television or computers. This cost-free social entertainment has become a stable of their personal lives. Dark back streets of the industrial areas are … Read more
Lisa Ma
