Cao Fei "i.Mirror by China Tracy"

Zaim

Finished

Artists

Cao Fei

i.MIRROR emerged from half a year of wandering around in virtual reality as Cao Fei's online avatar, China Tracy. The title screen of the work seems to indicate that it is a "documentary about Second Life," but in fact the work consists of a finely detailed universe that emerges from the performances of various avatars playing roles in a game. Yet as Fei has explained, this is only a semi-documentary, created through the chance encounters with other avatars online.
The work is divided into 3 parts. Part one depicts a vivid consumerist landscape in a Second Life metropolis. Part two shows the loneliness of urban life in a subway station where youngsters seek connection through random encounters. In contrast to the alienating feel of parts one and two, however, part three is a wistful look at a desired future where real world and virtual world identities are joined.
For Cao Fei this online world is an ongoing experiment in a working global economy by "real" people, edging ever closer to a kind of socialist, common ownership "e-topia". However, participating in Second Life is not a two-tiered existence per se, but rather a life with no unity or uniformity to speak of.

Schedule

Mar 17 (Mon) 2008-Mar 25 (Tue) 2008