RMB CITY secondlife city planning

  • 2007
  • Cao Fei
  • Video, colour, sound
  • 6 min

An imaginary island is home to landmarks jostling for space, including the Monument to the People’s Heroes, the National Grand Theatre, factories from northern China, the CCTV Tower by Rem Koolhaas, a Buddhist temple, a statue of Mao, the Three Gorges Dam and the National Stadium. This collision of traditional, communist and capitalist symbols highlights the complexities of modern China.

© Cao Fei. Photo © Fondation Louis Vuitton / Martin Argyroglo © Cao Fei. Photo © Fondation Louis Vuitton / Martin Argyroglo

Hangs

Cao Fei

Inspired by popular and traditional sources – film, advertising, manga, theatre – Cao Fei makes videos and multimedia installations that explore relations between the real world, a collective utopia and the personal aspirations of a young Chinese generation immersed in a new culture, marked by the economic boom and growing access to the Internet.

In 2007 she began working with Second Life, a virtual platform created in 2003, through her avatar China Tracy, within an environment of symbolic, everyday objects, both Chinese and international. “Second Life is not just a work of art, it has become a meeting place for different spiritual areas of our lives,” explains the artist.

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