Cai Guo-Qiang: Falling back to earth

140 141 Building bridges In 1999, I was invited by the Queensland Art Gallery to create an installation for ‘The Third Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT3). In the centre of the gallery there is a reflective pool that separates the space; its placement inspired me to build a bridge across the pool to connect the two sides. The bridge had two sensors that triggered a short simulated rain shower on visitors as they passed over the middle of the bridge. I named the installation Bridge Crossing 1999, because bridges not only connect places but also become visual symbols of abstract notions such as emotion, philosophy and time. Given the Gallery’s location next to the Brisbane River, this indoor bridge echoed the bridges outside, as well as the cultural exchanges that link Australia with the rest of world, overcoming the barrier of the ocean. The Gallery also invited me to participate in the inaugural Kids’ APT that was part of the third Triennial, and for this I planned a project inviting children to build their own bridges. A conceptual extension of Bridge Crossing , the project attempted to build a bridge between artist and child by making my artwork resonate for children. I gathered hundreds of images that depicted famous bridges from all over the world and traced their silhouettes with black marker onto acetate. Tables and stools were placed next to Bridge Crossing and each child was supplied with the same simple construction materials: tape and bamboo sticks. I observed that the children had an innate ability to build their own bridges from scratch, and their creations illustrated their limitless imaginations. In their wondrous universe, it never occurred to them whether their designs were too steep to walk on or if the spans of their bridges were too wide to realise. While the structural requirements of a bridge often determine its form, these children freely expressed the aesthetics and essence of a bridge because they held no bias. They instead focused on preserving its beauty and significance: to link one shore to another, to permit going from here to there. More abstractly, their bridges provided a concrete, yet romantic, platform to imagine exchanges and encounters over time or space. Without the limitations of practicality, they executed their visions successfully. Bridge Crossing 1999 Installation view, ‘The Third Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 1999 Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Research Library Generation gap As the eldest son, I always subconsciously rebelled against my father. Whenever he boasted about the achievements of Chinese civilisation, I pointedly laughed at and criticised China’s social problems. He was fond of ink painting and calligraphy, I learned to sketch, paint and sculpt. We often engaged in heated debates, instigated by his adulation of China. He would say, ‘Our Quanzhou ancestors built the twin pagodas as early as the Song Dynasty, a rare tall building in the world at the time’. I would retort, ‘The glorious days are already history. With our current techniques and resources, we can’t even erect a 10-storey building’. I would then point to the photographs on a calendar that my friend brought back from Hong Kong, remarking, ‘Look at Hong Kong — how modern and advanced!’ My father’s influence on me occurred silently and gradually, mirroring the low- key way he did most things. Though he loved classical Chinese culture, he never opposed my studies in Western schools of thought or my desire to become a contemporary artist. By playing classical music on the violin, I was able to comprehend the delicate difference between Western and Chinese humanities. Western classical music became my most direct exposure to Western philosophies and, though my interest began as an act of rebellion against my father, in the long run I benefited from it. Children building bridges for Bridge Crossing 1999 during Kids’ APT. ‘The Third Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 1999 Above Courtesy: Cai Studio Below Photograph: Richard Stringer Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Research Library