Artist shows agriculture droning forward

From 2016 onward, Cao integrated virtual and augmented reality elements into several of her works, such as designing an art car for BMW and creating her sci-fi film Nova.

In 2018, Cao ventured into futuristic storytelling with her fictional film Asia One, which unfolds a love story set in an automated warehouse named Asia No 1, built by e-commerce giant JD.

Interestingly, this time her inspiration to explore smart agriculture also came from a company in her hometown — an agricultural robotics firm based in Guangzhou, Guangdong's capital. Much as the factories in her hometown inspired her acclaimed work Whose Utopia two decades ago, this local company, XAG, again sparked her creativity.

"In 2021, I returned to Guangzhou. A friend introduced me to a local company that develops agricultural drones, and after learning more about them, I found the subject incredibly intriguing," she says.

"In the past, China was known as the world's factory, with Guangdong focused on low-cost processing and manufacturing for export. But today, 20 years later, China has shifted to independent innovation and exporting technology. Agricultural drones are a prime example of such progress. This transformation in the industry provided me the perfect entry point for my creative work."

Cao Fei shares her influences, takeaways and focus