"Forget your perfect offering there is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in."
Leonard Cohen - 'Anthem'
Cai Guo-Qiang, a Chinese artist, explores diverse symbols, narratives, traditions, and materials in his work across mediums like drawing, painting, installation, video, and performance art. He studied stage design at the Shanghai Drama Institute and attended the Institute for Contemporary Art at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center. Initially inspired by politics and traditional Chinese culture, Cai's later acclaimed pieces focused on gunpowder works, leading to his signature outdoor explosion events.
He experimented with gunpowder art in Quanzhou, his hometown, and continued while living in Japan. Gunpowder allows him to challenge controlled artistic traditions and China's social climate, emphasizing spontaneity and unpredictability. Cai's site-specific artworks respond to local culture and history, engaging the audience with the surrounding universe. Notably, his explosive installations at the NGV in Melbourne, such as Transience I and II (Peony), symbolize Chinese history and culture through materiality and explosion techniques. Peonies, representing wealth and honor, link to ancient and contemporary Chinese culture.
The project showcases a seamless art installation without abrupt transitions. The audience is guided through the life cycle of a flower, from its inception to its eventual demise, along a continuous ramp adhering to standard design principles. The gaps between the ceiling and floor contribute to the ethereal quality of the silk material, evoking a sensation of weightlessness and suspension.
