Performing (the) Rural Migrant Workers

Since China’s reform era began in 1978, millions of rural-urban migrant workers, known as <i>nongmingong 农民工</i>, have moved to cities for better wages. However, they remain marginalised in the very urban spaces they sustain. This article examines how these workers challenge China’s distribution of the sensible − the system of what is perceptible, shaped by the urban-rural divide − through their performances. Specifically, I analyse Wang Wei’s <i>Temporary Space</i> (2003), Song Dong’s <i>Potted Landscape</i> (2002), and the 2014 Yue Yuen shoe factory protest. Forms of dissensus include how the <i>nongmingong</i> assert recognition in spaces where they are rendered invisible, challenge control structures like the hukou system and labour policies, and disrupt exploitative urban-rural relationships. These acts enable the <i>nongmingong</i> to contest dominant representations and forge new subjectivities that exceed how they are currently perceived in post-Mao China.