Cao Fei's Solo Exhibition at Le Plateau, Paris

Cao Fei, born in 1978 in Guangzhou, China, is a prominent figure among a new generation of Chinese artists who navigate the complexities of a socialist regime while embracing global contemporary art. Her work, which blends documentary and fiction, explores the paradoxical effects of China's opening to capitalism and globalized popular culture. She has participated in major biennials including Venice, Istanbul, and Lyon in 2007. Her solo exhibition at Le Plateau in Paris runs from March 13 to May 25, 2008. Early works like Cosplayers (2004) and Hip Hop series (2003-2006) humorously depict Chinese engaging in role-playing and street dance. Later pieces, such as Whose Utopia? (2006), developed during a residency sponsored by Siemens, involve collaboration with factory workers, combining documentary and staged sequences. Father (2005) follows her sculptor father installing a statue of Deng Xiaoping in Guangxi. Nu River (2007) is a road movie with young musicians in Yunnan. Cao Fei also explores virtual worlds, notably Second Life, where her avatar China Tracy created i.Mirror for the 2007 Venice Biennale and RMB City for Istanbul, a dystopian urban project aggregating Chinese stereotypes and symbols. Her work is characterized as an anthropological inquiry into the construction of self amidst societal upheaval.