ETH, Beijing

We spoke to ETH about Gen Z in China, originality in China, and the importance of brands uplifting and working with the real Originals; artists. ETH is an artist and founder of the art festival, “Singularity Plan”, often called the ‘loudest’ art festival in the country. The first of its kind in the country, Singularity Plan aims at discovering and spotlighting independent and young creators across China.

How would you define yourself, ETH, as an artist, a creator, or something else?

I’d say I’m both an artist and a creator.

And what excites you about this industry? What keeps you going?

Discovering young, talented artists makes me feel excited. It’s like treasure hunting!

We love that metaphor! Who or what would you say is leading the creative industry that you’re in? 

There aren’t specific individuals or institutions leading it, I don’t think. I’d say it’s more the atmosphere in our country that’s important and gives the culture its cutting edge. The pioneers of this industry are all of the artists, and the Chinese youth’s desire for things is what puts the culture at the cutting edge. 

We’ve heard about this push from Chinese youth for new things. Can you speak more on that? What’s special about Gen Z in China, these days?

They’re much more independent thinkers. They’re like sponges when it comes to absorbing knowledge; they’re not against anything, and they’re all strong learners. The youth here is more eager to know about new things than in the West, I think. When the youth here see something new, their eyes sparkle. This didn’t occur overnight – it’s a phenomenon that has been building up for several generations. 

What else would you say is important to know about youth in China today, compared to say, your generation?

Youth today have a certain cultural confidence. Those who were born in 2002, many of them have travelled abroad, and they know first-hand what it is like in a foreign country compared to China. Before, there was the belief that white people and the West were superior to people of other races. Chinese youth now, however, see many different races and cultures as they grow up. This helps them to see that every race is equal, and also that the Chinese are just as good. They go abroad and they question why things aren’t like in their travel books. One of my friends abroad recently said to me, “Philadelphia is doomed.” It’s not that I’m comparing China’s best to America’s worst – China still needs to learn good things from other countries, and our youth still need to self-reflect. But these days, it’s more of an equal view. 

“Philadelphia is doomed” - that’s amusing! Would you say, then, that youth today are more inclusive?

Yes, I’d say youth today have a good awareness about inclusivity now. It’s more natural for them to be inclusive; it’s like muscle memory. They’re educated on it. It’s not something they have to ‘do.’

That’s a really interesting way to put it – that inclusivity to the younger generation is ‘muscle memory,’ rather than conscious action. What does inclusivity mean to you, personally?

I’d say ‘inclusivity’ is similar to ‘liberty’. Inclusivity is about listening to each other. 

And do people seem to be discussing ‘inclusivity’ within the creative industry in general in China?

Inclusivity has been discussed from an academic perspective within my industry, however it should come from practice. For example, fifty people in an academic conference might discuss inclusivity, but after the conference, they continue with their business to gain profit without considering inclusivity. It’s pointless to just discuss inclusivity all the time. In an ideal world in the creative industry, it should be enough that artists are able to concentrate on their own ideas and products; that they can concentrate on their own creativity in communities that have formed naturally, and then share their work in an exhibition or festival. However, nowadays, in the so-called ‘art village’ areas, actual artists can’t afford to rent spaces there. This isn’t inclusive.

It's hard to directly compare the idea of ‘inclusivity’ in China with the Western world, as they exist very differently as concepts, but where would you say China lies in terms of inclusivity?

I think inclusivity in a way is inherent in China; we have the saying “Anyone who comes to me, is my guest.” Chinese society operates a lot via people helping each other and offering favours. I think this represents a kind of inclusivity. Having said that, I was born in the 1980’s, and the current youth born after 1990’s view the whole world in a different way to us, so I’d say there is more inclusivity in current youth culture than when I was young. The Chinese government recently did some branding for niche cultures for example, as well as street culture.

That’s interesting! And exciting to hear that the Government are doing things to uplift the niche cultures. Let’s move on to talk about originality for a moment. Like we did with inclusivity; what does originality mean, to you?

Originality means individual people. With regards to art, it’s a very personal thing. The features of originals are that they’re willing to express themselves, and pay more attention to their own thinking. The best ones are those who can stay true to themselves, even if it means spending time alone to create their work. Art is about taking previous experiences, expressing them in the current moment, and thinking about what there is to do in the future. The people around me who care about youth culture have these kinds of attributes. 

And what do you think it would mean to the world if originality didn’t exist?

Robots would rule over human beings. Originality will always be important - it’s the difference between robots and human beings. 

So, in your industry, what role does originality play?

Originality plays the role of motivation. It drives people to move forward. 

Do you think originality means something different in China today, than it did in the past?

Yes. The era we live in in China today does not rely on labour, it relies on intelligence, therefore, originality is more important. 

So, originality is more important – does that mean there’s more originality these days in China, or less, do you think?

On the surface, it appears that people have more originality, but in fact that’s not the truth. There’s too much homogeneity, whereby the media decides on our aesthetics. Everything happens too fast; the media feeds us information and gives us so many options that it’s actually difficult to choose. It is too easy to access things, therefore people don’t cherish what they have. To encourage originality, processes need to slow down. I’m including myself in this, too, as well as the things I see in the culture and around me.

We’ve heard that echoed, too - that the pressure to always be creating at a speed is counterproductive to originality! What is your first reaction to the concept of "Enabling originality to make the impossible, possible"? 

It would be a campaign that is not only with superstars or celebrities, but more “anyone can be a part of this campaign.” Any talented person can represent a niche culture – they could work with the campaign and become a spokesperson. It is not all about profit and business. That’s the true “making the impossible, possible”.

Do you think brands have this responsibility to help non-celebrities or smaller artists, and give them a platform?

It is not necessarily their responsibility as such, but a brand can’t survive well if they don’t help artists. It is like the relationship between water and fish; they can’t live without each other. There are lots of opportunities like this for big brands, but they just seem to ignore them. If they truly care about the niche community, they should do something for them…

Can you think of any brands that have done this, lately?

It’s not a brand, but the programme “China’s got Hip Hop” is quite good, as it has helped to promote rap music to the masses and help unknown musicians to become successful by publicising themselves on the programme. They then give their feedback to others, and it becomes this kind of circle of virtue. I think this kind of thing can be called inclusivity, too. 

Ah, we’ve heard about this programme! Have you seen anything from adidas specifically in China, lately?

adidas used to be popular in the past, however they’ve aged a bit, now. I rarely see adidas advertisements these days, and their products are fewer and farther between. I used to purchase adidas products, but I don’t buy them much anymore. As I was growing up, the main brands were adidas and Nike, but adidas is gradually disappearing … Nike takes up more of the market now.

So how do you think that adidas can better connect with the young generation today in China?

They need to work with people who are leading youth culture and represent youth culture. A great example of a brand that did this was Edison Chen’s Terracotta Army-inspired Jordan shoe. They did well to work with the right person who could represent youth culture. Similarly, adidas should choose spokespeople who are diverse and who also have some connection with street culture, like skateboarding, or graphic art. 

That’s a good point. We actually interviewed Edison’s colleague and friend for this project! How else can adidas be better?

I think adidas should also pay more attention to offline experiences. They need to do more on the interior design of their stores, because the current designs are not good at all. It’s like the interior design of some adidas stores here in China have not changed since 1990 …

Are there any other brands that you think are doing well at connecting with the youth?

I think some games stores are doing very well, such as the toy store ‘52Toys’.  They’re well branded towards young people, and the interior designs of the stores are visually great. I think the offline experience is very important in China. The in-store experience. Li-Ning is also a great local brand. Young kids go through a lot of effort to buy a pair of their shoes. They’re beautiful, and expensive – more expensive than Jordans – but I was told by some kids when I asked where I could get some that I wouldn’t be able to find them. They’re popular, but rare.  

What could adidas do to breakthrough in China and become legendary again, in this way?

Well first, not trying to be a legend is what makes a legend. Second, their Superstar shoes represent an important part of pop culture. They could reproduce their legendary editions. For a brand to last a long time, there must be some spiritual heritage there. But when they do this, they should make sure to work alongside the young generation. The brand itself should lead the legendary movement, and not rely on certain celebrities. 

So it’s imperative to tap into the heritage, but involve the youth?

Yes. They need to focus on young people. They should focus on and do more for youth and street culture. Street culture after all is not only for the street artists, but for the young people who enjoy it. I think of adidas as a youth brand, but they don’t seem to pay enough attention to the actual lives of youths here…

It’s not the first time we’ve heard this … How would you sum up what you hope in terms of the future of youth culture and youth brands in China?

I would like to see more and more local brands, and more and more collaborations between local brands and foreign brands. I wish to see everyone creating. I wish to see more diversity of brands, rather than one big brand. All different flowers should blossom.

That’s a beautiful flower metaphor. Do you have any closing words for adidas?

It doesn’t matter whether it is adidas or Nike or whoever; if they are doing their business in China, they should respect the local culture and hire local artists for their creative endeavours. What I would like to see is a cooperation with local artists to work on some products. I want to know which brands are truly helping and caring about the youth. I want adidas to support and show more care towards young artists. How about  having a special department to work on projects with these young artists? That would be great.