Shanghaied is a dynamic installation that combines light, shadow, and experimental sound. It presents an abstract cinematic setting of a Chinese-ish town, drawing inspiration from Polanski's Chinatown, Orson Welles' The Lady from Shanghai, and a number of classic American films with Chinese elements.
In many classic Western films, Chinese cities (as well as Chinatowns) are frequently portrayed, with Shanghai being one of the most frequently featured. Interestingly, the English term "shanghaied" came from the 19th-century practice of kidnapping or forcing individuals to work as sailors on ships, particularly in Shanghai. It refers to forcing and, furthermore, fooling someone into doing something.
Within these films, the protagonists are mainly Westerners, while the Chinese characters and Chinese city serve merely as backgrounds, thereby establishing a narrative distance between the audience and the story itself. The constructed Chinese city in these films exists solely in Western fantasy and shares little or no relation to actual Chinese cities or  Chinatowns. It becomes an illusional space distant from both Chinese and Westerners.
This installation addresses the illusory and vacuous nature of Western views on the "Other" by constructing a fictional cityscape by playing with light and shadow. It encourages viewers to look into the significance of this historical cinematic representation and its influence on contemporary insight.