Cao Fei: ‘My City Is Yours’ A Vision of Digital Life and Identity Coming to Sydney
Image: Image: Instagram/cao_fei
Sydney’s art scene is buzzing with excitement as the days count down for the Art Gallery of New South Wales unveiling the My City Is Yours exhibition by Cao Fei.
On display from November 30 to December 7, it will be the largest exhibition of the Chinese artist’s work ever shown in Australia. Renowned internationally for her exploration of digital culture, virtual worlds, and urban transformation, Cao Fei brings a unique and timely perspective to a city known for its vibrant, multicultural energy.
As an artist, filmmaker, and virtual-world creator, Cao Fei occupies a pioneering position in the contemporary art landscape. Her work delves into the impact of digital technology on everyday lives, capturing how digital platforms have shaped identity and urban landscapes. For many visitors, this exhibit provides a rare opportunity to engage with Fei’s ground-breaking multimedia art that touches on universal themes of community, individual agency, and technological change.
Central to this exhibition is Fei’s ability to create immersive experiences that blend the virtual and physical. A key work featured is RMB City, an iconic piece that explores her vision of a fantastical, imagined city built within the online virtual platform, Second Life.
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This digital utopia, a reflection of the rapid urbanisation and modernisation in China, presents a unique view into an alternate reality where culture, capitalism, and technology intersect.
Cao Fei’s Whose Utopia (2006), another notable work in the exhibition, addresses labour and individuality in a globalized world. Filmed in a Chinese factory, this piece offers a poignant look into the daily lives and unfulfilled dreams of factory workers, reflecting the social and economic disparities amplified by globalization.
These works serve as a bridge between the real and the virtual, encouraging viewers to ponder the rapid digital and cultural shifts shaping contemporary life.
For those unfamiliar with Cao Fei’s work, this exhibition provides an eye-opening introduction. Fei’s immersive, reflective, and often surreal art style invites audiences to examine the ways technology moulds society, from sprawling metropolises to individual aspirations.
Visitors can expect to navigate through multimedia installations, video works, and interactive digital spaces, each layered with themes of disconnection, hope, and collective identity.
Cao Fei’s work holds a crucial place in contemporary art, particularly as society grapples with the effects of digital and virtual realms. She bridges Eastern and Western perspectives on urbanisation, identity, and technology’s place in society.
This Australian premiere is a significant step in broadening appreciation for her work and, perhaps, in prompting visitors to consider: in a world increasingly lived online, what remains “real” in our cities and our lives.
My City Is Yours will run at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, immersing Sydney audiences in the digital visions of one of China’s most important contemporary artists.
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