cai guo-qiang suspends 10,000 porcelain starlings over terracotta warriors in melbourne

10,000 porcelain birds swarm overhead. in nature, when starlings such as these flock together like this, swooping with synchronized momentum, it is called a murmuration and for thousands of years, chinese philosophers, stoic warriors and the occasional emperor gazed up at murmurations in awe — but porcelain is white. each starling in this porcelain murmuration was first scorched black from gunpowder explosions by their creator, contemporary artist cai guo-qiang. then, they were suspended in stillness at NGV in melbourne, aside emperor qin shihuang’s army of terracotta tomb warriors.

installation view of cai guo-qiang’s murmuration (landscape) 2019 (detail)
realised in dehua, fujian province and melbourne, commissioned by the NGV
image © cai guo-qiang / photo © tobias titz photography

cai guo-qiang’s handmade murmuration undulates here and there, softly imitating the mighty face of mount li. mount li, according to chinese philospohers, was an important meridian in the region and among other things, the final resting grounds of qin shihuang and his terracotta army.

juxtaposed together, the ancient soldiers and contemporary flock merge to form a new meridian.‘the ever-changing formation of 10,000 porcelain birds seems to embody the lingering spirits of the underground army,’ says cai guo-qiang, ‘or perhaps the haunting shadow of china’s imperial past. but in this age of globalisation, aren’t they also forming a mirage, an exoticised imagination of the cultural other?’

in 1982, the national gallery of victoria presented the first full exhibition of china’s ancient terracotta warriors — just a few momentary years after their discovery. NGV is making history again in 2019, as the qin emperor’s terracotta army returns alongside one of china’s most celebrated contemporary artists, cai guo-qiang.