A Herd of 99 Lifelike Animals Drink From a Pool at QAGOMA

A Herd of 99 Lifelike Animals Drink From a Pool at QAGOMA

Inspired by a trip to Stradbroke Island in Australia back in 2011, artist Cai Guo-Qiang began work on his newest large-scale installation, Heritage, a flock of 99 life-size replicas of wild animals including giraffes, pandas, lions, tigers, and kangaroos drinking from a pool of blue water. The piece is included along with several additional artworks as part of his first solo exhibition in Australia, Falling Back to Earth, at Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art in South Brisbane.

Also included in the exhibition is Guo-Qiang’s famous airborne cascade of 99 wolves titled Head On, where the animals seem to launch themselves into the air only to crash into a large glass wall and begin the cycle again. You can see more behind-the-scenes photos in the video above and on the artists blog. Falling Back to Earth runs through May 11, 2014.