Between cultivated fields and invisible infrastructures, the agricultural landscape transforms into a complex system of data, images, and relationships. With Dash, Cao Fei unveils at Fondazione Prada a project that redefines our view of the land in the age of technology. The result of research conducted across China and Southeast Asia, the exhibition weaves together photography, video, virtual reality, and archival materials to portray the revolution of smart agriculture. Drones, algorithms, and automation emerge as tools capable of increasing efficiency and addressing global challenges - from climate change to labor shortages - while profoundly reshaping the relationship between people and the land. The installation unfolds as an immersive narrative blending the real and the virtual: an environment where granary, temple, and laboratory coexist, and where documentary images intersect with speculative visions. Here, technology and traditional knowledge do not oppose each other, but interact and evolve together. More than a reflection on progress, Dash raises urgent questions about labor, ecology, and cultural continuity, inviting us to imagine new forms of balance between humanity, nature, and artificial intelligence.
