Neon cities, cyber nightmares and yum cha: Cao Fei, the visionary artist charting China’s past and future

For her first major solo show in Australia, the Guangzhou-born artist has turned the Art Gallery of New South Wales into a bustling cityscape

When the Chinese contemporary artist Cao Fei was negotiating her solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales' modern art wing, Naala Badu, she was adamant it would not be a traditional low-lit in a white square box" endeavour.

The Guangzhou-born artist, who has strong ties to Sydney (a sister city to the sprawling Chinese port city), wanted her show to capture the brashness and bustle of a busy mall or market.