Cai Guo-Qiang: Falling back to earth

172 173 1957 Cai Guo-Qiang is born on 8 December in Quanzhou, an historic seaport on the south-east coast of Fujian Province, China. ‘In my hometown’, the artist notes, ‘the view of the mountains is clear and the water is beautiful. I love the nature there. I always dream of returning to paint the landscape there, but there is never a hometown that one can truly return to, because the hometown is constantly changing’. 1966 In the early days of the Cultural Revolution, the People’s Liberation Army carves a huge portrait of Mao Zedong into the face of a nearby mountain. Cai describes this as his first encounter with Land art. Cai Guo-Qiang Chronology Cai Guo-Qiang with his parents, c.1959 / Courtesy: Cai Studio 1976 The death of Mao Zedong brings the Cultural Revolution to an end. 1978 Cai meets his future wife, painter Hong Hong Wu. 1981 As China begins to open up to the West, Cai moves to Shanghai to study stage design at the Shanghai Theatre Academy. His teacher, Zhou Benyi, combines the influence of Russian realist painting and design with contemporary Western techniques borrowed from the United States. 1984 Cai begins to experiment with gunpowder, a readily available material thanks to neighbours who manufacture fireworks. When his grandmother smothers one of his burning canvases with burlap, he realises that he should know not only how to light the fire but also how to put it out. 1986 In December, Cai moves to Tokyo on a student visa, enrols in language school and focuses on learning Japanese and making art. 1987 Cai participates in an exhibition by the Dokuritsu Art Association at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and also holds his first solo show, ‘Gunpowder Art’, at Tokyo’s Gallery Kigoma. 1988 Cai is commissioned for a gunpowder drawing to feature on Japanese television channel NHK. Cai and Hong Hong Wu marry. Cai Guo-Qiang (far right) and classmates at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, China, 1984 / Courtesy: Cai Studio Cai Guo-Qiang and Hong Hong Wu at the Longmen Grottoes, Henan Province, China, c.early 1980s / Courtesy: Cai Studio Cai Guo-Qiang creating the gunpowder painting Shadow: Pray for Protection , Quanzhou, China, 1985 / Courtesy: Cai Studio Cai Ruiqin / Untitled (Matchbox Drawings) , date unknown / Ink, pen and pencil on cardboard matchboxes / Courtesy: Cai Studio 1971 Cai is introduced to history, calligraphy and painting by his father, a publications manager at the local Xinhua Bookstore, who has a great deal to do with Cai’s exposure to traditional Chinese art and the local cultural scene. ‘My father liked to paint and had a remarkable influence on me’, he recalls. ‘What’s most memorable is sitting on his lap as he painted landscapes on matchboxes. In retrospect, these small matchboxes perhaps have influenced me more than his serious paintings did.’ Cai participates in art troupes that promote Maoist ideology, tries his hand at the violin, oil painting and theatre, and acts in martial arts films. Membership of the local propaganda troupe helps Cai to avoid the Xia Xiang (‘Down to the Countryside’) movement and the physical labour it entails.