Broadening the geopolitics still further is Gangjian Cui’s installation Rise of the Plasticsmith. He anticipates a time 50 years hence when the scarcity of oil will mean that cities such as his native Daqing, a community in north-east China built entirely on the industrial production of plastic, will be facing terminal decline. The artist posits the rise of a new breed of worker who will use now-precious plastic much as an artisan might: sparingly and with a laser-like focus on the intricacies of each individual piece. To this end, he has developed a set of tables and cabinets constructed entirely out of transparent plastic, using simple joints that have been melted together. The result is delicate, fragile and actually rather beautiful.