WHO IS CAO YU？
Cao Yu is regarded as one of the most influential contemporary artists in China, and internationally, representing China. Her work confronts the body and lived experience with rare intensity.
Cao Yu has been widely recognised through major honours including the AAC Young Artist of the Year Award (2018), a Sovereign Asian Art Prize shortlist (2023), and her selection on the Gen.T China 100 list (2020), cementing her status in the Chinese contemporary art world.
Recently, Cao Yu completed an art residency with ACAR (Australia China Art Residency), without whom none of this would have been possible. ACAR’s vision and support laid the foundation for every step of this journey, allowing Cao Yu to expand her practice across new cultural and geographic landscapes and making our collaboration in Australia a reality.
During her time in Australia, we were honoured to co-produce and participate in Cao Yu’s ongoing project Shanhe Declaration, expanding its dialogue into the Oceanian landscape. With Cao Yu, we walked through desert heat, cliff winds and long drives to Canberra. We spoke about her questions, her fears, her power — the things she never puts on camera. And somewhere on the road, we began to feel the strength she carries in her body, the kind of strength you only notice when you’re close enough to witness it. It was from this closeness, this shared ground, that we then completed a monumental work together: the ten-year revisitation of Fountain in the Australian desert.
A JOURNEY THAT FORMED TRUST, AND REVEALED POWER
Working with Cao Yu meant travelling with her, an interesting journey through the desert heat, cliff winds and long drives to Canberra, through coastal edges and late-night conversations that stretched until early morning. Mobility became a space of thinking. Along the way, she shared her questions, her fears, her strength, and the parts of herself she never puts into her work.
A mutual trust built almost immediately. Our founders were able to find an artistic connection with Cao Yu herself, prompting them to take on this project themselves. A great honour to witness the force she carries in her body, not overly dramatic, but the kind that sits deep and unwavers.
During her stay, Cao Yu was invited by ACAR to showcase her completed works in an open studio format, as they proposed to invite national and international art critics, curators and collectors to the event. Cao Yu and our team spent endless nights finalising the studio's design and placement of her works, which included her I Just Don't Want You To Live Better Than I Do (2021), Shanhe Declaration (2024-Present), The Thing in the Chest (2020), Fountain (2015), I have (2017), I Have (Part 2) (2020) and so forth. A notable existence would be UpCloud Studios' original showcase of a self-introduction with a twist, designed specifically for Cao Yu's Open Studio.
Alongside this collaboration, UpCloud Studios continues to develop our own interview series, focused on conversations with leading voices across culture, academia and industry. During production, we were honoured to meet and speak with Ari Heinrich (Professor of Chinese Literature and media at Australian National University) and David Williams (Former Director of Australian National University, School of Art) , who spoke with admiration about Cao Yu — her courage, her conviction, and the quiet strength that defines her practice. These exchanges reflect the kind of dialogue we value: thoughtful, grounded, and deeply respectful of artistic bravery.
'Her art is definitely brave, it's unseen of'——David Williams
CO-PRODUCING SHANHE DECLARATION
At the heart of this collaboration is '龙头 - 山河宣言 (Shanhe Declaration)', one of Cao Yu’s most significant international artistic actions in recent years.
We were honoured to co-produce this artwork and have it submitted to multiple art prizes in the recent months.
From conceptual development, to fieldwork planning, on-site execution, filming and extended production, our team were there every step of the way.
This work unfolded across multiple Australian landscapes. With each site holding its sentimental meaning, its own conversation.
Shanhe Declaration explores:
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A declaration of creative freedom with the image of ‘龙头 (Dragon Head)' on the flag
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Transcending liminations imposed by society
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Taking the declaration universal
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Art beyond institutional spaces
Cao Yu’s dedication remained unshaken throughout.During post-production, her long nights in the studio were spent shaping and cutting footage with precision and intensity. A focus that reflected the personal weight this project carries, a strong visual impact and profound thematic thinking.
For us, co-producing this work was more than technical collaboration; it was participation in a living declaration — a work forged through movement, land, body and trust.
A DECADE LATER - INTO THE DESERT
As part of this journey, Cao Yu also invited our team to assist in the production of a ten-year desert revisitation of Fountain. It was a journey — physical, emotional, and artistic.
“With Fountain I didn’t just emerge as an artist — I exploded. Ten years later, Cao Yu is not who she was. What once shocked is now legacy.”
Cao Yu undertook a solitary desert walk, carrying a 60-inch monitor into the vast expanse of the Australian interior. There, in a landscape stripped to its essentials, she screened Fountain once more.
It was a challenging act, even harsh at times — but also groundbreaking.
The gesture created:
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a dialogue between body and land,
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endurance and creation,
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survival and the force of life itself.
The desert did not soften the work.
It sharpened it.
LOOKING FORWARD
The works created during her time in Australia mark only the beginning.
Seeing the final product on stage at the National Art School, at the ACAR launch, on show at Cao Yu's open studio during her stay, was definitely a milestone for our team as well.
We look ahead to the next stages of Shanhe Declaration and future collaborations to come. We extend our gratitude to ACAR, whose support made this exchange possible, and to Cao Yu, for allowing us to walk beside her through this chapter of her practice.
More will unfold — and we remain honoured to be part of the journey.
