Story printed on long labels and placed inside the garment.
Mixed media, 2013





Cao Fei create an oasis of rest within the heart of the exhibition. It becomes a venue where the visitor is invited to "take time" (only two viewers can enter at once) to discover recent history and to daily life in China. 

Cao Fei continues these stories from the everyday ins the hidden labels of second hand clothes that are displayed inside her Eyeliner(2013). They are fictional tales of the individual, written by the artist herself. Placing these stories inside the tags and translating them into English, Cao Fei doesn't just tell an individual narrative but turns it into a global history. The notion of "taking time" is associated with reading, and introverted closed action in which a person is focused entirely upon him or herself while at the same time discovering someone else's life story an act that results in recognition and self-identification.

The Eyeliner is a stylish contemporary space specifically designed by Cao Fei to tell stories of contemporary Chinese society. Her work reflects upon the ways in which single strands get lost within the greater purpose of the masses and it deals, in a fundamental way, with the need to make time for the individual. It is an essential revolt against the values that lead to the sacrifice of individuality for the "greater good".