So begins a daytime fireworks display that brings the Forbidden City to life, inspired by the fireworks historically held at the site to mark the Lunar New Year. Then a burst of gunpowder brings a splash of yellow to the clear blue skies and disperses a flock of crows. The Hall of Supreme Harmony – the most impressive building within the complex – comes into view, but its distinctive red walls and golden roof tiles, as well as the adjoining stone courtyard, are all white as snow, as though in an architectural rendering. We are transported into his dreams, where he pursues a cat that is darting into the palace grounds, towards a blinding light at the end of the entrance tunnel. Courtesy Cai StudioĪs we put on our VR headsets, we see the artist drifting into slumber. But it packs a visual punch, and more importantly, breaks new ground for how its medium can be used.Ībove, the opening scene of the VR work Sleepwalking in the Forbidden City, showing artist Cai Guo-Qiang drifting into slumber Below, the viewer is transported into Cai’s dreams through the entrance tunnel of the former imperial palace, as seen in the title card. Like Cai’s most memorable pieces, this new artwork is limited in duration, with a run time of only five minutes. Created in partnership with HTC Vive Arts and debuted last week at the Palace Museum in Beijing, it is the Chinese artist’s first virtual reality artwork, and the grand finale of a solo exhibition that coincides with the 600th anniversary of the palace complex.
With Sleepwalking in the Forbidden City, we now have our answer. Given this track record, one wonders what he would have to gain from venturing into virtual reality – a technology that has helped many artists realise ideas that can’t (yet) be given physical form, but whose results often pale in comparison to IRL experiences. His greatest hits include a transient rainbow glistening over New York’s East River, an enormous explosion of colour above Shanghai, and an illuminated ladder soaring 500m from his hometown of Quanzhou into the heavens. With gunpowder as his medium and the sky as his canvas, Cai Guo-Qiang has created ambitious installations that defy the limits of human imagination.
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