Chinese contemporary artist Cai Quo-Qiang has taken over Queensland’s Gallery of Modern Art in Australia with ‘Falling Back To Earth’, a monumental, immersive exhibition that sees, for the first time ever, all 3,000 square metres of GOMA’s ground floor dedicated to the work of a single living artist. Encompassing both new and recent works reconfigured for the space, Guo-Qiang’s dramatic and explosive artistic explorations contemplate the complex relationship between humanity and nature through a series of large-scale, spectacular and meditative installations.
‘Falling Back to Earth’ features for the first time, ‘Heritage 2013′, an installation piece comprising 99 replicas of wild animals situated around the circumference of a water pool. Lowering their heads into the crystal blue lake, the placed species stand on powder white sand and simulate a mass drink from the oblong reservoir filled with 170 tons of water. Tigers, bears, zebras, giraffes and kangaroos illustrating a seemingly a peaceful gathering of predator and prey. The piece was influenced by the dramatic landscapes of southeast Queensland, which the Guo-Qiang visited in 2011.
The menagerie of animals doesn’t end there… elsewhere, 99 wolves are seen leaping en masse and colliding with a glass wall; there is also a suspended 31-metre eucalyptus tree that creates a tranquil space for contemplation; and a tea pavilion where visitors can find out more about the artist and the exhibition whilst sipping on tea.
Cai Guo-Qiang: ‘Falling Back to Earth’ is on now until May 11 at Queensland’s Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, Australia.
