Falling Back to Earth: Cai Guo-Qiang
Despite two failed pyrotechnic ‘explosion projects’ for the 1996 and 1999 Asia Pacific Triennials of Contemporary Art (APT), Cai Guo-Qiang returned for a more grounded invocation with large-scale installations at Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane. A gigantic felled eucalyptus tree lies suspended in the gallery, like an environmental relic, while a menagerie of ninety-nine faux life- sized animals are poised to drink at a blue lake. Biblical in scale, this Noah’s Ark suggests a harmonious paradise while the number ninety- nine references infinity in Chinese numerology.