No Brave New World!
In the interview by Hans Ulrich Obrist accompanying this first
comprehensive European publication on her work, the artist, born in 1978
in south China's Guangzhou province, outlines the initial conditions and
perceptual requirements for her work. As the daughter of a sculptor, she
traveled with her father, who had the privilege of working in Hong Kong
and of being able to repeatedly return there, which allowed her to
develop quite early on a fundamental interest in Western (pop-) culture,
as well as familiarizing her with the corresponding ways of seeing.
During her art and film studies, she remained undecided for quite a long
time which path she would follow, which is still reflected the hybridity
of her work. The book focuses on three of her complex works, which are
realized in a both sculptural and cinematic way. With respect to form,
Cao Fei delves into the online world of avatars and pop stars, as well
as the film world of zombies and the always seemingly rather romantic
models, as known from the world of model railways. Produced, in some
instances, over several years, the image of a closed oeuvre emerges that
taps into a high critical potential--as in »La Town« where in
meticulously constructed model parts, plastic figures are cast from one
fire disaster to the next; in »Haze and Fog«, where the dead and the
living share a city, New Beijing; or in »RMB City«, a »Second World« of
artificial set pieces where avatars live, and sometimes even a groovy
Marx-figure appears on the scene. In the wake of her invitations to
numerous biennials, last in Venice in 2015, Cao Fei's work has attracted
great interest; it represents the artistic awakening of young
transnational Chinese art: the latter probably because her perception of
the molochs, in this case Chinese cities, coincides with the future
prospects of Western societies.
