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Artist’s Statement
“The urban fringe of Beijing is littered with loosened bricks from fragmented land – the result of urban development. A dynamic and complex urban system has blurred the edges between cities and suburbs. The size, scale, and land use of different areas are at constant odds with one another. This conflict serves as the foundation of China’s urban development and relative space between society and its urban economy.
Cao Fei’s earlier video work from 2015, Rumba II: Nomad features several vacuum cleaning robots which have been released into the urban fringe. The robots navigate at random in a demolition area – a scene that is both exciting as well as the new norm within a rapidly changing Chinese society.
The robots are like visitors who have arrived from outer space. By taking in the dust and ashes found within the urban fringe, the reality of this land is collected as a sample; a sample that conveys our obsession and celebration of the contemporary.
Rumba 1: Incubator is a new chapter of mother and child, drawing from Rumba II: Nomad. Rumba 1: Incubator features fluffy little chicks, common household pets within urban households. The chicks ride on top of vacuum robots, representing an adorable generation of playful and carefree otaku*.”
-Cao Fei
* “Otaku” is a Japanese term which defines a person who has obsessive interests. The term may be applied to a wide variety of topics, including anime, manga, cosplay, collectibles, and more.
Video
See Cao Fei's “Rumba 1: Incubator”, 2017 (for Parkett Vol. 99) in motion
Artist Document
A related body of work, “Rumba 01 & 02”, 2016, on view at MoMA PS1 in 2016.
Parkett Text
Read a Selected Text on Cao Fei
