Thomas L. Fort, Jr.
ART-526 Practical Methodology
Hill
February 12th, 2015
Captured Wind Arrested Shadow
Captured Wind Arrested Shadow is a collaborative performance and drawing piece put together by Cai Guo-Qiang and Lin Hwai-min. The work combines aspects of both artists' styles: Lin's choreography from his Wind Shadow production along with Cai's gunpowder drawings. Using a fan and a set of fabric “wings,” Lin Hwai-min has his actors stand before two white pieces of paper while Cai Guo-Qiang sketches the movement of their shadows onto the surface. The sheets are then completed with Cai's signature technique of using gunpowder as a drawing medium that is then ignited. The scorched images of the figures stands out against the stark background. The final aspect of Captured is to have the finished sheet hanging while Lin's performers again stand before it with wind blowing, superimposing their shadows on top of the shadows that Cai has “arrested.” The concept of this piece was to use two-dimensional media to capture snapshots of the movement of shadow as created by wind. By using his traditional style and medium, Cai Guo-Qiang has made it obvious he took part in this piece. The work also ties in with Lin Hwai-min's Wind Shadow productions that make use of artificial wind along with flowing and lofty materials silhouetted on various backgrounds. In addition, images of their collaborative piece are superimposed in the background during portions of the performance. Lin's Wind Shadow performance was fairly well received by critics, however finding critical review of the collaboration has proven almost impossible.