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CAI GUO-QIANG in

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In the twenty-first century

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My work is sometimes like the poppy flower

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It has this almost romantic side

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But yet, it also represents poison

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Gun powder

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From its very essence you can see

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so much of the power

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of the universe
How we came to be!

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You can express these grand ideas
about the cosmos

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Very epic and heroic,

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but at the same time
it's used for such destruction.

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Gun powder possesses a physical danger anyone who is near it.

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But with time you get to know the material.

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First you have to accept that it's uncontrollable.

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And then work with it.

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I've worked with the material so long,

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that I've gained an understanding with how it works

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My way of doing it is just to flow with the material.

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To let it take me where it wants to go.

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So I continuously want it to give me problems.

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Give me obstacles to overcome.

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This whole process of making drawing is very much like lovemaking.

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From the very beginning of laying down the paper,

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it's like laying down the sheets on the bed.

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And it's a very long process.

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Always working towards a final goal.

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And all the time there's this feeling that you just want it to explode.

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To finish.

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But you're afraid that maybe it's too early,

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maybe it's not the best time yet.

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Maybe you need to work on it a little more.

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And then afterwards, you either have great satisfaction

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or you have disappointment as to your entire performance.

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You can talk all day about the ancient philosophies

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and modern philosophies, art history,

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criticism, theory, subject matter, historical context,

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contemporary, post-modernism, form, representation.

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All these things can be discussed, but in the end,

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it's really this on sight performance so to speak,

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that really makes a work.