6
ARTIST Archive AND TIMELINE
GOMA Foyer and Cinema Lounge
Installed throughout the GOMA foyer are
photographs, documents and artworks drawn
from the Cai Studio Archives and from that of the
Gallery’s Australian Centre for Asia Pacific Art
(ACAPA), offering insight into the artist through
key moments in his life and work.
In the Foyer Cabinet is a display based on Cai’s history
with the Gallery, including his projects for the second
and third editions of the Asia Pacific Triennial of
Contemporary Art. These documents, photographs
and objects reflect the intricacy, ambition and
tortuous process that is characteristic of his works,
which often contain an element of risk – projects do
not always turn out as planned – yet this uncertainty
is considered an essential part of the work. Cai
realised significant and highly memorable works in
Brisbane: the gunpowder drawing
Nine Dragon Wall
(Drawing for Dragon or Rainbow Serpent: A Myth
Glorified or Feared: Project for Extraterrestrials
No. 28)
1996, now in the Gallery’s Collection, which
is currently on view at the Queensland Art Gallery;
and
Bridge Crossing
1999, which was a central work
in ‘The Third Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary
Art’ and included one of the Gallery’s first Kids’ APT
projects, created by Cai with the Children’s Art Centre.
Projected in the Cinema Lounge is a video compilation
containing classic moments of Cai’s signature
explosion events, and on the adjacent wall is an
illustrated timeline combining artworks, exhibition
documentation and personal snapshots. The display
captures Cai’s collaborative approach to making art
by emphasising his relationships with others: family,
friends, fellow artists and communities around the
world. Cai has been described as ‘a truly
international artist’, yet while his work
often draws on universal themes,
specific and personal elements
are always present.
Let’s Create an Exhibition
With a Boy Named Cai
Children’s Art Centre, Gallery 1.4
Cai Guo-Qiang’s children’s project, produced in
collaboration with QAGOMA’s Children’s Art Centre,
provides a setting for children to experience aspects
of the artist’s practice, from gunpowder drawings and
explosion events, to the symbolic imagery of boats,
animals and trees that often recur in his installations.
Cai’s intention for the exhibition was to ‘share with
children my experience as an artist, allowing them
to understand and participate in an artist’s practice
in more depth’.
As children take on the roles of artist and exhibition
maker within the space, they create their own objects –
a boat, tree or an animal – which echo the important
symbols also present in Cai’s
Eucalyptus
and
Heritage
works on display in ‘Falling Back to Earth’.
Young visitors can virtually reimagine the wonderful
world of the artist’s experiences, including his
gunpowder drawings and explosion events, using
multimedia touchscreens and digital effects.
A narrative that alludes to
Peach Blossom Spring,
the
fable by fourth-century poet Tao Yuanming, provides a
framework for the Children’s Art Centre project. In Cai’s
story, the main character is a young incarnation of the
artist, who pursues his dream to make art; he is joined
by children he meets during his adventures around
the world. This engaging story takes the form of an
animated short film, which will be screened within the
exhibition space, and a children’s picture book.
Children can also learn about the artworks Cai has
made across the globe through a specially-created wall
map, featuring images and notes, which has been
drawn by the artist with an ink brush directly onto the
wall of the Children’s Art Centre.
