Additional information
by Cai Guo-Qiang (Artist), Yuko Hasegawa (Text by (Art/Photo Books))
The perspective of one of the most influential contemporary artists on the complex web of conceptual and material connections between China and the Arab world. Saraab ("mirage" in Arabic) is the catalog of Cai Guo-Qiang's first solo exhibition in the Middle East. It is a journey of personal and artistic discovery that demonstrates the emotional breadth of Cai's work, from the intimate to the spectacular. Featuring the artist's characteristic use of symbols and stories about local history and transnational movements, the book is inspired by the multilayered history of the artist's hometown of Guangzhou, China, and it illuminates the long-standing but little-known relationship between China and the Arab world dating back to the ancient maritime Silk Road. It features conversations between Cai Guo-Qiang and scholars on Sino-Arab history and a monographic essay on the artist by Yuko Hasegawa, as well as images of never-before-published early works.
Author Biography
Cai Guo-Qiang was director of Visual and Special Effects for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In the same year, he was the subject of a retrospective at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, in New York. In fall 2010, Cai created Odyssey for the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. He currently lives and works in New York. Yuko Hasegawa is chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, and prior to that she was chief curator and founding artistic director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (1999-2006).
