Cai Guo-Qiang

“Everyone has their moments of solitude, difficulties, and vulnerability.”

“I'm always oscillating between if I should sprinkle more gunpowder or less. But if I put too much gunpowder, there may be holes throughout the silk. If not enough, the power and energy would not be shown.”

“Computer animation is one way to liberate people from their circumstantial gravity, and it is one way to give them mental freedom.”

“Any work that is born out of natural serendipity or reverts to simpler times is poignant for people - in any era.”

“When I was young, the constraints of Chinese society and my personal timid and cautious nature both drove me to seek a means to go against control. Gunpowder has an inherent uncertainty and uncontrollability and is an important means for me to relieve myself of constraint.”

“I do believe every artwork has its own charisma. Sometimes it's different from what I expect. When a work is finished, it exudes its own charisma and lives its life independently.”

“Using gunpowder as a medium became a way to liberate myself.”

“One reason I chose gunpowder is that I had the good luck in my environment to be exposed to gunpowder. The other reason is I was always looking for a visual language that goes beyond the boundary of nations, and so I found gunpowder.”

“I tend to be cautious and rational, prone to keep everything under control.”

“Through art, through people working together and building relationships and trust, people can overcome the problems of politics.”

“In any country, in any city, there will be political influence on what is said, what kind of images are to be projected and, yes, of course artists can be and are influenced by politicians.”

“I was growing up in a society that exerted a lot of control on people, and from both my personality and the social condition, I found gunpowder gradually as a very suitable medium for exploration.”