‘inopportune: stage one’, 2004 (detail) image © designboom

chinese artist cai guo-qiang has a history of making works of beauty from violent beginnings; most famously using gunpowder, fireworks and explosions in his sculptural installations.

currently on show as part of the 17th biennale of sydney is cai’s ‘inopportune: stage one’ (2004), one of his most challenge and spectacular presentations. the installation is comprised of nine identical white cars, which appear to be arrested in an animated sequence of explosion. together the vehicles are frozen in an arc of detonation, blast, launch, tumbling, gravitational return and rest. the cars are pierced with pulsing rods of light that simultaneously suspend the cars like wings, penetrating them like blades, signifying a co-existence between violence and beauty.

cai guo qiang: inopportune - 2 installation view of cai guo-qiang’s ‘inopportune: stage one’, 2004 at the biennale of sydney image © designboom

cai guo qiang: inopportune - 3 point of detonation… image © designboom

cai guo qiang: inopportune - 4 pulsing rods of light pierce the suspended cars image © designboom

cai guo qiang: inopportune - 5 a vehicle launching into the air… image © designboom

cai guo qiang: inopportune - 6 worm’s-eye view of the installation image © designboom

cai guo qiang: inopportune - 7 the frozen arc of vehicles image © designboom

cai guo qiang: inopportune - 8 sequence of tumbling… image © designboom

cai guo qiang: inopportune - 9 vehicle hanging almost perpindiculara to the ground image © designboom

cai guo qiang: inopportune - 10 launching and gravitational return occuring image © designboom

cai guo qiang: inopportune - 11 overturned vehicle image © designboom

cai guo qiang: inopportune - 12 overview of sequence image © designboom

cai guo qiang: inopportune - 13 image © designboom

cai guo qiang: inopportune - 14 ‘inopportune: stage one’, 2004 image © designboom

cai guo qiang: inopportune - 15 gravitational return to resting image © designboom

cai guo qiang: inopportune - 16 view of installation from point of detonation image © designboom

cai guo qiang: inopportune - 17 nine identical white cars make up the entire installation image © designboom

cai guo-qiang was born in quanzhou city, fujian province, china in 1957. he was trained in stage design at the shanghai drama institute, and since then, his work has often been scholarly and / or politically charged. in 1999, he was awarded the golden lion at the 48th venice biennale. he currently lives and works in new york.