Cai Guo-Qiang is a New York based artist known for his marquee gunpowder paintings. This time Izolyatsia, a new art centre in the industrial city of Donetsk, Ukraine opened with his solo gunpowder paintings exhibition. This exhibition was titled 1040M Underground. In addition to this, he also conceived another installation called nursery rhymes.
Both the installations derive inspiration from mines and mine workers of the salt and coal mines in Ukraine, as the artist followed coal miner 1040 meters underground, hence the name of the gunpowder painting exhibition. One installation .i.e. the painting installation is called Monuments on Shoulders that consists of 27 portraits of mine workers. He creates the painting in front of people with gun powder and then burns them with different grades and grains of gunpowder. The paintings are then kept on the frames that are similar to the ones that were used in propaganda parades.
Second installation is called Nursery Rhymes which have been exhibited in the remains of a factory that was burnt down. In this second installation nine used mining carts have been used and each of them comprises of projection on the canopy, so that the visitors to the gallery can see films that show Ukranian athletes, musicians and other art films. This atmosphere has also been matched by keeping alongside the objects that have been salvaged from the fire ravaged factory.
