Head On

Berlin, Singapore, New York, Bilbao’s Guggenheim, and Brisbane are just a few of the locations in the world that have had the pleasure of experiencing Cai Guo-Qiang’s installation Head On (2006). For his dramatic and impressive installation, Cai, who resides in New York, chose to fit 99 life-like stuffed wolves into a glass wall. The stuffed wolves appeared to push towards a transparent wall relentlessly crashing with full force against the glass barrier, while the rest of the animals behind continue surging forward valiantly and undeterred.

It was created in 2006 for his solo show of the same name at the Deutsche Guggenheim in Germany’s capital, Berlin. Speaking about this installation, the Chinese artist said:

"My goal was to create art that would initiate a dialogue."

The exhibition aimed to bring to light the profound and intractable underlying historical issues between former West Germany and East Germany, despite the Berlin Wall coming down more than 30 years ago and reuniting the two factions.

While the installation was inspired by Berlin’s rich and tortured history, the message exposed was valid for everyone. Cai wanted to portray the universal human tragedy resulting in our urge for upward mobility and advancement. The wolves were designed to echo the human spirit of relentlessly trying to attain an objective without compromise.

Striking in its significant size and the emotions that the piece evokes, the wolves featured in Head On were constructed from a combination of metal wires, hay, and painted sheepskin. The beginning of the piece started with a few stray wolves casually joining more wolves headed in the same direction.

Along the length of the transparent barrier, the wolves appeared to gain momentum and rise in a tight pack, which created the illusion of one long stream of moving wolves. The stream, which was suspended above the head of the audience, also appeared as though it was crashing forcefully into a plexiglass wall located on the opposite side of the room.