“無碼”一詞常常被中國網民在地下隱秘論壇中用作搜索沒有馬賽克的日本成人片的指代詞。隨著微信和支付寶這些軟件的普及，二維碼在中國的廣泛使用讓“碼”一字作為二維碼的縮寫成為了日常用語。二維碼方方正正的樣子貌似成人片審查制度中的馬賽克，這些物理世界與中國互聯網之間的入口已成為了城市景觀中的常客。

The word 無碼 (wú mǎ, literal translation: no code) has long been used as a codeword by Chinese Internet users on underground piracy forums to search for uncensored Japanese adult films (無碼 can be translated here as “no code” or “no mosaic”, i.e. without the actors’ genitals being pixelated). More recently, the widespread use of QR codes in China – driven by the popularisation of such apps like WeChat and Alipay – has made the word 碼 (mǎ, code) a shorthand for QR Codes/二維碼 in daily parlance. The QR codes – whose blocky appearance eerily resembles the censorship mosaic – have become a fixture in the urban visual landscape, acting as portals between the physical world and the Chinese Internet.

新冠疫情在一夜之間改變了二維碼在城市空間中的可見度和角色。少有別的事物能比無處不在的健康碼更好地意指中國城市的後新冠疫情生活日常。這些二維碼是政府用來控制疫情的數據手段之一。綠色的健康碼既代表了個人在非常處境下自由活動的權利，同時也代表了當局對於個人的數據控制。二維碼以及其它數據驅使的技術在疫情背景之下的廣泛使用體現了中國公眾對於“碼”的力量越发著迷（或是一種漠不關心？） – 其影響在現與地緣政治的波動產生了一種共振。

The COVID-19 pandemic transformed overnight the visibility and role of QR codes in urban spaces. Few things better symbolize life under COVID-19 in urban China than the ubiquitous health QR codes, which form part of the state’s data-powered drive to quell the pandemic. A green health QR code signifies both the right to freedom of movement in a state of exception, and the level of control the state exerts on its subjects as (in)dividuals, represented and modulated through data. The proliferation and acceptance of QR codes and other data-intensive technologies in China against the background of the pandemic reflects a growing public fascination (or apathy?) on the power of “code” in the country – its reverberations are now resonating with geopolitical oscillations.

借用“無碼”一詞早期放蕩不羈的精神，無碼計劃是一個嘗試，希望可以跨越關於“碼”的常規討論而探索疫情後“新日常”中的細微末節。無碼計劃的藝術家們將上海的街道作為主要的觀察對象，並進行了由地點驅使的介入行為、即興表演、探索推測型設計和狡黠的文字遊戲。

Channeling the earlier unruly spirits of “無碼”, NoCode is an attempt to look beyond the usual discourses around “code” in order to explore intricate nuances of the pandemic “new normal”. To accomplish this goal, artists of NoCode take up the streets of Shanghai as the main site for observation and actions including location-specific interventions, spontaneous performances, speculative designs, and wily wordplays.

無碼計劃的作品可能发生在（包括但不限於）以下地點：1930年代建成的廢棄電影院，一個出售來路不明手的二商品的遊擊夜市，老城區的建設/解構現場，蘇州河邊的橋，南昌路上的精品店，樹上，你的手機上，和互聯網。

Works of NoCode may have happened at, among other locations, an abandoned movie theatre built in the 1930s, a transient night market for second-hand goods of dubious origins, (de)construction sites in
the Old Town, bridges over the Suzhou River, boutique stores on Nanchang Road, trees, your phone, and the Internet.