Artist Cai partners with Infiniti at coming show
Print Edition
WHEN the world-renowned contemporary artist and master of gunpowder Cai Guo-Qiang meets his new sponsor the most emotional premium auto brand in China, Infiniti, the partnership sparks a strong emotional resonance, or “Gan Ai” in Infiniti’s terms.
“Gan Ai”, as the latest branding concept of Infiniti, is one of many ways to decipher those deep emotions and thoughts behind Cai’s latest work for “The Ninth Wave” Solo Exhibition, which is scheduled to open on August 8th at the Power Station of Art in Shanghai under the theme of environmental protection.
One of the artworks with the same name of the solo exhibition, “The Ninth Wave” installation, arrived at the city earlier this month. Starting its journey from Cai’s hometown, Quanzhou, Fujian Province to the Huang Pu River in Shanghai, the installation is a boat carrying 99 weary-looking fabricated animals that have survived the violent sea. It is a fable about the critical environmental issues that human beings are facing. with “The Ninth Wave” as a name synonymous with the highest and harshest billow highlighting the urgency.
Cai’s compassionate feelings and humanistic thoughts are also fully expressed in his recently created gunpowder drawing “The Bund without Us”. It is a depiction of Shanghai’s skyline against the Huang Pu River one hundred years later. When men are nowhere to be seen after letting nature take its course, animals and vitality are back to the Bund.
“My work is full of daring spirits to break free of conventions. But that’s not all. An artist also needs to think about giving back to the city that supports his unconstrained ideas,” Cai said.“Love” is what he wants to give in return. As part of Infiniti’s corporate social responsibility program, Cai helped nearly 15 autistic children create something special together during watching the creation of the “The Ninth Wave” installation. It was an enjoyable experience of sketching for all the children, during which they used bright colors to depict their own ideas about nature while drawing inspiration from the “The Ninth Wave” installation.
“In fact, in the art history, many artists tend to be introversive, lonely, isolated, obsessed with certain materials and surroundings. From outsiders’ perspective, they are weird. Communicating with autistic children is all about treating them as normal kids, and using normal ways to help them become more proactive and optimistic,” said Cai, an artist known for staying true to himself.
The joint work of those children will decorate an Infiniti QX60 HEV to be presented at Cai’s exhibition as one of the art pieces.
The luxury 7-seat SUV features the Infiniti Direct Response Hybrid® system with a supercharged 2.5-liter inline 4-cylinder engine and a 15kw electric motor powered by a compact lithium-ion battery pack. Boasting of high energy efficiency, this electric hybrid car can bring its performance level up to the same level as a 3.5-liter naturally-aspirated engine-powered QX60 and yet cut its fuel consumption level by 20 percent, and its environmentally-friendly character closely accords with the theme of Cai’s exhibition.
On August 8th, Cai will also present a spontaneous firework drawing outside the Power Station of Art, which is expected to be a highly immersive presentation.
An engaging experience, of a car as well as a brand, is also what Infiniti wants to bring to its customers. Customer engagement programs are the key focus of Infiniti’s branding campaigns this year, and its partnership with Cai is for the long term, according to Infiniti.
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