Real Mass Entrepreneurship looks at the myth of the small technology hardware business owner as global hero, vivified through Shenzhen’s accelerated production model. Its title echoes the call for “mass entrepreneurship and innovation” in contemporary China, investigating the tech industry’s role in reshaping the world’s economic horizons. The notion of “mass entrepreneurship” not only signifies a socio-economic activity, but also alludes to the changing status of the individual within the larger system of production. In a globalized network, individual entrepreneurs are valorized, seduced by fabricated myths of innovation and advancement, and plunge themselves into the crucible of incubation and acceleration. Eventually, though, they become part of the masses, as if produced on the assembly line.

Real Mass Entrepreneurship draws from locales in Shenzhen that Denny visited while developing the project, which was initially commissioned by OCAT. One is the Window of the World, a theme park located in Nanshan District, which opened in 1994, amidst the promotion of domestic tourism in the 1990s. It soon became a popular attraction, squeezing miniature reproductions of cultural landmarks from various countries into a 49-hectare playground and, in so doing, reflecting Shenzhen’s gaze at the world and its role as a node in a globalizing network. Another is the Huaqiangbei electronics market, a product of the special economic zone, which illustrates the technology industry’s impact on the urban landscape as it accelerates social development through technological innovation and lax enforcement of intellectual property.