The Art World Works From Home: Artist Cao Fei Is Stuck in Singapore Watching Zombie Thrillers and Teaching Art Students Over Zoom

The art world may be on lockdown, but it certainly does not
stop. During this unprecedented time, we’re checking in with
art-world professionals, collectors, and artists to get a glimpse
into how they are working from home.

Like many artists, Cao Fei has found that her day-to-day life is
unrecognizable from what it was just a few weeks ago. Her
multimedia installations are sought-after the world over—with
recent major shows at MoMA PS1, the Palais de Tokyo, and Tate
Modern—but the Chinese artist’s current projects are on hold,
including her recently opened solo presentation at London’s
Serpentine Galleries.
In fact, her life itself is on pause: since January, the
Beijing-based artist and her family have been staying in Singapore,
where she was unveiling an installation just before the outbreak
grounded travelers the world over.

Read on to hear how she’s managing teaching from quarantine,
keeping her kids busy, and what she’s looking forward to
post-social isolation.

Where is your new
“office”? 

My current office is the living room
of my residence in Singapore. I was in town in January for the
launch of my outdoor installation Fú Chá, a
commission for the Ng Teng Fong Roof Garden of the National Gallery
Singapore. Since the coronavirus outbreak started in China shortly
after the launch, me and my family have been forced to stay put in
Singapore.

What are you working on
right now (and were any projects of yours interrupted by the
lockdown)?

My solo exhibition “Cao Fei: Blueprints” at
the Serpentine Galleries was suspended after opening just for two
weeks. Many projects have been either suspended, canceled, or
postponed. People are all in “wait-and-see” mode, waiting for this
coronavirus pandemic to end.

How has your work changed
now that you are doing it from home?

Lots of things are being moved
online now. Almost everyone in the art world—established media
outlets, art museums, all kinds of art-related accounts on
Instagram—are having projects such as virtual exhibitions, online
Q&As, livestream interviews, and Instagram takeovers. People
are trying to use all sorts of methods to bring the offline online,
and because of the growing appetite for that, I’ve also received an
unprecedented amount of invitations to participate in these virtual
events.

What are you reading, both
online and off?

Recently, I’ve been giving online
seminars to my graduate students at CAFA through Zoom; there are 20
to 30 students in my class. Since what I teach is “moving image,”
naturally I would go back and rewatch old clips and works by
numerous artists for class preparation, like Bruce Nauman, Vito
Acconci, Bill Viola, Dara Birnbaum, and Douglas Gordon. My memory
suddenly becomes clear again and subsequently generates new
understandings on these blurry pieces that were gradually fading
away from me.

Have you visited any good
virtual exhibitions recently?

Acute Art has made
something that’s worth checking out—its collaboration with KAWS offering a few AR
sculptures that could be floating in your surroundings. Their
project went online right before the epidemic started to mushroom
all over the world. As people are facing lockdowns and all the art
museums and galleries are forced to close, it seems like only this
virtual Companion can still freely float around across
borders and societies, greeting people from the sky with support
and consolation.

Have you taken up any new
hobbies?

I started to love doing chores. I’ve
never voluntarily done housework and laundry with this amount of
patience and seriousness—same with helping my kids with their
homework and teaching them how to draw. I also started to buy
groceries and cook again, and I have to admit, I rarely cooked
anything [previously] since I’ve been so busy with my work for the
past few years. Now, I even try to challenge myself with making
dumplings and desserts for my kids, which is a way to make it up to
them.

What is the first place you
want to travel to once this is over?

I want to go back to Beijing. I
really miss our dog, Kaka. And I also want to go visit my parents,
who live in southern China. They are very old now.

If you are feeling stuck
while self-isolating, what’s your best method for getting
un-stuck?

I would choose something physically
intense to release my energy: I can swim almost everyday in
Singapore, and also take a walk around the neighborhood in the
evening. My method is basically cleansing the suppressed emotions
through sports and chores—but to be honest, if you have kids, I
don’t think you even get the chance to feel stuck since it’s
already pretty overwhelming to take care of your little ones during
the pandemic.

What was the last TV show,
movie, or YouTube video you watched?

I just finished watching the second
season of a Korean TV thriller on Netflix called
Kingdom. It’s a show based in ancient Korea about
plague and zombies. I feel like watching thrillers is a good way to
“sharpen” yourself during a long period of isolation and social
distancing.

If you could have one famous
work of art with you, what would it be?

WiFi is more important than art
now.

Favorite recipe to cook at
home?

Pork and cabbage dumplings: pork,
cabbage, ginger, salt, sugar, sesame oil, Chinese cooking wine, and
plain flour.

What are you most looking
forward to doing once social distancing has been
lifted?  

I am hoping my kids can go back to
school as soon as possible. I also want to spend time with
myself—to rush back to my actual studio so I can properly work
again. I also miss good chats and laughter with my friends, so I
want to grab drinks and have dinner with them when things are back
to normal.

The post The Art World Works From Home: Artist Cao Fei Is
Stuck in Singapore Watching Zombie Thrillers and Teaching Art
Students Over Zoom appeared first on artnet News.