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    cao fei’s ‘duotopia’ delves into the metaverse and virtual reality at sprüth magers berlin

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    Cao Cao’s “duotopia” between the virtual and physical worlds

    Sprüth Magers Berlin opened to the public with his solo “Duotopia”. exhibition by Chinese Artist Cao PiKnown for her skills in multimedia installations, Fei’s work often blurs the lines between reality and fantasy, delving deeply into the impact of technology on modern society. In “Duotopia” the artist presents a series of new works and continues his exploration. metaverse, Virtual world, and their relationship to physical realms. The title of the exhibition expresses his concept of a utopian society consisting of two distinct parts: the physical part and the virtual part. Through the exhibition, Faye creates a dialogue between these two realms of hers, questioning their boundaries and exploring the interplay between human and machine consciousness. Now showing until August 19, 2023

    Create immersive experiences that challenge our understanding of the world around us.


    Cao Fei, Duotopia, installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, 29.04.-19.08.2023, photo by Timo Ohler

    Exploring the boundary between real and imaginary numbers

    A series of new videos in the gallery below the exhibition examine the creative and combinatorial possibilities of the metaverse. The first video, Meta-mentary (2022), introduces viewers to everyday people who share their perspectives on the Metaverse and the future. Adjacent screens and shelves display Cao Fei’s early virtual reality work “RMB City” (2007-2011), which served as the home for her first avatar, China Tracy. Both projects highlight her Fei’s ongoing fascination with the fluid boundaries between physical and virtual reality.

    Surrounded by a bold banner advertising the exhibition’s name, Duotopia (2022) presents Faye’s first architectural work in the Metaverse. The video is displayed in landscape orientation, inviting the viewer to lie on the floor, look up, and experience the video immersively from below. Duotopia’s structure features substructures shaped like giant aquatic creatures that seem to bridge the gap between sky and sea, rotating and floating in the blushing sky.

    cao fei's 'duotopia' delves into the metaverse and virtual reality at sprüth magers berlin
    Cao Fei, A Holiday, 2023, Single-channel HD video, 16:9, color with sound, photo © Cao Fei, 2023, Courtesy the artist, Vitamin Creative Space and Sprüth Magers

    Step into the Sprüth Magers Berlin

    Displayed on a mobile phone-like vertical screen, Oz (2022) features a new avatar of Duotopia imagined by Cao Fei 15 years after the birth of China Tracy and RMB City. With his bionic tentacles and calm androgynous appearance, Oz exudes a sense of peace that suggests hope for an eternal future. Separated from the metaverse by an intricate arrangement of fake walls, props, photographs and memorabilia, Cao Fei’s three recent projects explore the experiences of family and friends during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the virtual It provides a contrast to realm.

    The surrealism and theatricality characteristic of the artist are evident in each of these works, but also situate the viewer in a more everyday reality. ‘Isle of Instability’ (2020) chronicles the quarantine period in Singapore in the early stages of the pandemic, offering a series of necessities such as sanitizer and government documents as an ‘isle’ video made in the living room by the artist. We are drawing together. Distract and entertain her daughter. The video also shows empty highways and streets.

    cao fei's 'duotopia' delves into the metaverse and virtual reality at sprüth magers berlin
    Photo © Cao Fei, 2023, Courtesy the artist, Vitamin Creative Space, Sprüth Magers

    “A Holiday” (2023) is an installation that includes campsite picnics, artificial greenery, fences, and a video shot in Beijing in 2022. This work reflects the need for nature felt by many in response to the confinement and stress of long-term remote living. Cao Fei’s latest video, Still Alive (2023), pays tribute to her mother in mourning after losing her stepfather to her COVID-19 complications.

    In the gallery on the second floor, Cao Fei presents two videos that explore the time, space and fictional nature of history and geopolitics. Nova (2019) found that an effort by a Chinese scientist and his colleagues to solve time travel with the help of a Soviet scientist resulted in his son being accidentally trapped in an alternate space-time continuum. It tells a non-linear story. My son travels through retrofuturistic landscapes trying to find his way home in Cao Fei’s lush installations full of nostalgic details.

    cao fei's 'duotopia' delves into the metaverse and virtual reality at sprüth magers berlin

    Cao Fei, Duotopia, installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, 29.04.-19.08.2023, photo by Timo Ohler

    Cao Fei’s new video, MatryoshkaVerse (2022), briefly revisits the researchers and astronauts from her previous work. This video captures documentary footage of Manzhouli, the charming border city of Inner Mongolia, with giant matryoshka doll buildings and amusement parks that mix Chinese and Russian influences. The city and its surrounding landscape serve as the backdrop for a metaphysical exploration of multinationalism, cultural hybridity, and the complex ways in which human history continues to leave its mark on the planet. All of MatryoshkaVerse and Cao Fei’s exhibition projects reflect the rapid global changes affecting China and the world, and the connections that unite us across these divides.

    cao fei's 'duotopia' delves into the metaverse and virtual reality at sprüth magers berlin
    Cao Fei DUOTOPIA – First edition, 2022, 3D rendered video, 9:16, color with audio, 2:40, photo © Cao Fei, 2023 Courtesy the artist, Vitamin Creative Space, Sprüth Magers

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