Liu Chuang:
Bitcoin Mining and Field Recordings of Ethnic Minorities

In collaboration with curator and researcher Yang Beichen, the artist explores the intricate relationships between hydraulic projects and Bitcoin mining in southwest China, a region characterized by its abundant hydropower resources and significant ethnic diversity.

This three-channel projection interweaves found and filmed footage with a voiceover in the endangered Muya language, revealing how modern developments impact traditional cultures. The video opens with a montage showcasing the evolution of infrastructure—from late Qing Dynasty telegraphs and mid-20th-century dams to contemporary Bitcoin mining operations. It introduces “Zomia”, a vast region in Southeast Asia—including parts of Myanmar, Thailand, and southwestern China—that has historically escaped state control but is now increasingly subject to modern infrastructural encroachment.

Drone footage of decommissioned hydroelectric plants repurposed as Bitcoin mines underscores the connection between cheap hydropower and cryptocurrency operations. This visual narrative reflects the broader geopolitical and technological changes affecting Southern Asia, where approximately 70 percent of the world’s Bitcoin mining power is concentrated. Liu Chuang examines how these developments intersect with the lives of ethnic minorities in these regions.

The second half of the video shifts focus to sound. Liu Chuang postulates that an all-in-one entertainment system (EVD), marketed to Zomian peoples, digitalizes their nervous systems. By juxtaposing original footage, archival images, and scenes from iconic 1970s sci-fi films like Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris, Liu Chuang critiques how technological and cultural representations affect marginalized communities. He traces the origins of sci-fi sounds and images to early anthropological field recordings, revealing how these media forms abstract and exploit both cultural and ecological resources.

Liu Chuang’s work bridges seemingly unrelated subjects—Bitcoin mining and field recordings of ethnic minorities—highlighting their shared historical connections to nation-states and cultural technologies. This work offers a critical perspective on how advanced technologies, like virtual currencies, intersect with traditional knowledge systems, reflecting on the broader implications of technological progress for marginalized communities and the environment.

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