NOVA 01, 03 & 17

Cao Fei

What complications arise as we enter science fiction futures?

The three prints on show are from Cao Fei’s feature-length science fiction film, Nova. Set in the fictitious city of Nova, the narrative centres on a computer engineer whose attempt to digitise humans irrevocably alters his own son’s reality. The son becomes a digital version of himself, trapped eternally in a virtual reality. Losing his identity, he shifts between time and space, retaining only his memory and emotions. Nova is a distillation of Cao Fei’s dual investigations into the socio-urban transformation of Beijing’s Jiuxianqiao subdistrict, where she lives, and the impact of emergent technologies on the human condition. The film challenges conventional understandings of transcendence, a motif recurrent in Eastern philosophy and speculative fiction, and confronts the ethical complexities arising from technological advancement.

What sacrifices do we make in the name of progress?

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Cao Fei is one of China’s most important contemporary artists. She is globally recognised for her incisive commentary on China’s rapid social transformation. She has had solo exhibition at PS1 MoMA in New York, Tai Kwun Contemporary in Hong Kong, Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the UCCA Center of Contemporary Art Beijing and has been exhibited in numerous museums and galleries internationally.

Installation photography: Matthew Stanton