Let’s Create with a Boy Named Cai!

Cai was inspired to create the installation Heritage after experiencing the beauty of Queensland. The thought that this place could be the last paradise on earth led him to create a work that portrays the peaceful coexistence of animals—prey and predator alike—from all over the world. With all the conflicts and problems in the world, it may be easy to dismiss the utopian vision presented inHeritage as an unattainable Shangri-La, but the photographs the studio has been receiving have made us hopeful for the future of humankind. Through play and artistic creation these children have created their own versions of Heritage, and we’re glad they have shared their visions of the future with us. Here, dinosaurs, animals, and man coexist peacefully, assuring us that the future generation has the boldness and optimism to face the obstacles posed by the environment and society.

But perhaps more importantly, these playful displays have reminded us that art doesn’t always have to shoulder such heavy responsibilities. Sometimes, it can just be fun!

Lenny playing after seeing Heritage, 2013

Luka, 3, Liam, 8, and Fergus, 5, creating their own version of Heritage, 2014

Cai Guo-Qiang swimming in the pond during installation process of Heritage, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, 2013.
Courtesy Cai Studio.

Thanks to Lenny, Luka, Liam, Fergus, and their parents for sending us these photographs!

No, they’re not real. But they’re spectacular.

Fabrication has begun for Heritage, an installation featuring 99 life-sized animal sculptures, including giraffes, pandas, lions, tigers, and kangaroos, all drinking together from a lake.  The installation,  surrounded by white sand, is inspired by his visit to Stradbroke Island in 2011.

Heritage will be unveiled for Falling Back to Earth, Cai’s first solo exhibition in Australia staged exclusively at Brisbane’s Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art opening November 23, 2013.

All photos by Cai Canhuang, courtesy Cai Studio.