(b. 1967 - Xi'an, China) The tangled wires, circuit boards and broken cell phone casings in Xing's images reflect raw economics at work in China's Guangdong province - a thriving dumping ground for the world's obsolete electronics. The artist explains her need to portray a dark reality of 21st century technology and economics: "Traveling between China and the United States has made me increasingly aware of the conflicts between modernity and tradition, dream and reality. I carefully choose, direct and intimate moments to portray the objects I find. The aesthetic quality of the imagery almost removes the objects from their social context. But I cannot forget that most of the e-trash I am photographing is shipped from the United States and dumped in the Guangdong Province where people make a meager living recycling it. While we rely extensively on high-tech devices for our modern life, I was nevertheless shocked when confronted with the piles of dead and deconstructed machines, cords, wires, chips and parts - all of them with traces of America on them. In my country, I have experienced the changes that have taken place under the influence of Western modernity. These changes, driven in large measure by the United States, have contributed to a powerful push for development in China. At the same time, they have led to an environmental and social nightmare in remote corners of the country." Xing earned a BFA from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing in 1992 and MFA from School of Visual Arts, New York City, in 2000. She has exhibited his work in China, France, Germany, Canada and the US and was included in the 2002 Whitney Biennial. She currently lives and works in Beijing, China. 2003.286