Following the end of the Cultural Revolution in China which dramatically transformed the art world by enabling artists to create out of their own free will, Cai Guo Qiang enrolled in the Shanghai Theatre Academy to train in stage design. Since the 1980s, New York-based and Quanzhou-born Chinese artist Cai Guo Qiang experimented with multiple mediums to create his renowned sculpture installations, videos, drawings and performances. Using antique materials such as gunpowder, porcelain and terracotta that embody Chinese culture, Cai successfully reflects the history and philosophy of China in his artworks. In this lot, Alligator, Cai paints over a terracotta sculpture of an alligator, evoking traces of violence through its fearsome subject, while also implicating the destructive and collective nature of our society. Through combining notions of ancient history with current social issues, the artwork elicits a dialogue between the audience and the larger society.