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Men's Vogue Video

cai guo-qiang:
same word, same seed, same root

Cai Guo-Qiang creates enormous "drawings" by igniting gunpowder on vast canvasses. Below: A video of Cai making Same Word, Same Seed, Same Root. For more on Cai Guo-Qiang and to see the work of several other artists—including Stan Douglas, Vik Muniz, and more—see "the new alchemists".

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Video by Wu Fang and Xie Xiao Ling

Same Word, Same Seed, Same Root was created at 3:00 pm, May 14, 2006, at the Min Tai Yuan Museum, in Quanzhou, Fujian, China.

The project description, from caiguoqiang.com: "The large-scale gunpowder drawing measures 18 meters in height and 9 meters in width. The drawing depicts a large banyan tree from its roots to leaves, symbolizing the same culture, same race, same roots, and same origin between Mainland China and Taiwan. The guest-welcoming banyan tree hangs at the lobby of Min Tai Yuan Museum, which is dedicated to exhibiting the fateful relationship between Fujian and Taiwan."