Not far from the Interview office, the art collective known as Shanzhai Lyric has been studying Canal Street, which its members call New York City’s digestive tract. The collective comprises long-standing friends Lin Ming and Alex Tatarsky. The duo initially intended to research Beijing’s multi-level women’s clothing market. However, when Covid intervened, they shifted their focus to the old city haunts where they grew up.
Inspired by the old neighborhood and its proximity to a thriving counterfeit clothing market, the collective decided to examine the happenings in one of Manhattan’s oldest thoroughfares. Interview Magazine’s Juliette Feffers recently met with collective members to discuss various subjects.
How Did They Meet?
Jeffers asked the duo how their friendship began. They replied that they grew up together. More specifically, Shanzhai Lyric commenced in 2015 when Lin and Tatarsky were in Beijing researching nonsense poetry on t-shirts at a multi-level clothing establishment called the Zoo Market. There, they started gathering sayings referred to as Shanzhai Lyric. From that time forward, the team archived said sayings.
Shanzhai is the Chinese word for counterfeit, but in a more complimentary manner than you might think. The collective took this definition and was inspired to think of the concept on a more philosophical and social level and wanted to learn more about it.
When the pandemic struck, Ming and Tatarsky had to put their plans on hold. Little did they know that their Canal Street digs, specifically between Mercer and Greene Streets, offered them the unique opportunity to study a similar counterfeit clothing market. They used this chance to meet the people who make it tick.
Cultural and Global Epicenter
Jeffers then asked how the Canal Street project fully took hold. Collective members explained that Shanzhai is a character from a Chinese novel depicting the Robin Hood theme.
Ming and Tatarsky believe Canal Street is akin to an environment where counterfeiting outlaws work in an unofficial economy, selling customers cheap knockoffs. The duo also shared that Shanzhai originated from Chinese landscape painting, where works of art gather greater value when more people co-author and work on them.
Gaining Recognition
The collective’s efforts garnered the attention of the New York City art community. They have been invited to be artists in residence at the Green-Wood Cemetery, which happens to house the largest population of monk parakeets in the area. They hope to use the birds as further inspiration for future projects.
Paying Tribute to Plastic Bags
Jeffers mentioned that she researched how plastic bags play an essential role in the collective’s consciousness. Shanzhai Lyric answered this statement by relating just how important legacy plastic bags and plastic in general play in the history of Canal Street.
The street once housed numerous plastic stores where local artists could purchase materials to complete their projects.
Moreover, plastic bags honor the legacy of immigrants who first settled in the area and reused such items. The collective chooses to recognize the legacy of a plastic bag and celebrate its worth as a valuable item that can be reused and not immediately discarded.
Canal Street Is an Appropriate Name
Jeffers recalled how Canal Street was once a canal and proceeded to ask collective members what vital bodily organ they would compare the thoroughfare to if they were looking at New York City as a person. Ming and Tatarsky compared Canal Street to the human digestive tract because the canal used to collect, process, and dispose of waste products.
Jeffers was intrigued by the comparison. Shanzhai Lyric believes it goes beyond that. In their eyes, the digestive tract significantly influences the rest of the body in the same way Canal Street and its people greatly influence New York City.
The Fascination With “Knockoffs”
Jeffers inquired why the duo is so preoccupied with counterfeit clothes and other items. They responded that their experiences in China gave them a greater appreciation for just how beautiful, irreverent, and sensible shirts with catchy sayings can be. They wanted to view such items in a completely different light. These counterfeit items gave them a far greater appreciation of knockoff items in general terms.
An Economic Draw
Jeffers remarked that many people travel to New York City to buy t-shirts and knockoff items like handbags. The collective believes that the actual luxury product companies producing genuine items rely on counterfeiters because said subjects show off the latest trends and heighten public demand.
Shanzhai Lyric’s Future
The duo hopes to start a group known as Ragpickers Court, which honors and members activities such as upcycling, recycling, repurposing items, trash-picking, and canning. Ming and Tatarsky opine that these actions are essential to the world because they preserve natural resources and teach people the value of not dismissing what some may consider shoddy materials or goods.
