Artist builds stunning 1,650 feet high flaming 'Stairway to Heaven' and dedicates it to his grandma

Don't we all dream about gifting our parents and grandparents something memorable at least once in our lifetime? Cai Guo­-Qiang from China dedicated a one-of-a-kind masterpiece to his 100-year-old grandmother, who passed away shortly after witnessing the spectacular art installation dedicated to her. The event happened in 2015 in a fishing village that wasn't too far from the artist's hometown, Quanzhou, as reported by CGTN. But to create what looked like a 'Stairway to Heaven,' Guo­-Qiang faced several hurdles.

It was the artist's third attempt to create the Sky Ladder with gunpowders and copper wires, as reported by VICE. He first tried to build his masterpiece in 1994, but due to strong winds, his attempt failed. Then he tried to do it once again in 2001, but the Shanghai region denied him the permit after the world was left shaken by the 9/11 attacks. He finally succeeded in building the spectacular stairway almost a decade later. The video was shared by Guo­-Qiang on his Instagram page (@caistudio).

The Chinese artist first gained worldwide prominence with his larger-than-life and spellbinding art installations after the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, as reported by Office Magazine. He prepared a set of giant firework footprints that traced the distance in air between Tiananmen Square to the Bird's Next National Stadium. Guo­-Qiang was also the subject of the 2016 documentary "Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo­-Qiang."

The gigantic artwork consisted of a 1,650-foot-high ladder made with cords laced with pyrotechnics and was hoisted up by a helium balloon. The base of the structure was ignited from the ground and the crackling firework climbed up the heights to build the glowing stair pointed towards the sky.

Another one of Guo­-Qiang's contemporary art exhibitions at the opening of Uffizi Galleries in Florence, Italy, in 2018, according to Le Gallerie Degli Uffizi. Before the opening, the artist put on a mesmerizing fireworks display inspired by the art and architecture of the Renaissance period to honor the city. The primary influence behind the art installation was Sandro Botticelli's Renaissance masterpiece "Primavera." The piece that he displayed was called "City of Flowers in the Sky."

Guo­-Qiang's artistry with pyrokinetics has made him famous enough to land projects with brands like Yves Saint Laurent. In 2023, Anthony Vaccarello, the luxury brand's creative director, commissioned Guo­-Qiang to create an art installation that was one the first of its kind, reports Vogue Singapore. The artist created a dreamy daytime fireworks display at Yotsukura Beach in Iwaki City, Japan. A post on the Instagram page of @voguesingapore shared the video of the vibrant pyrokinetic display. 

The show was titled "When the Sky Blooms with Sakura." It made history as the first daytime fireworks to be displayed in Japan. "Spurred by Cai's strong belief in awakening hope for the city that was hit by natural disasters, a vision was realized—where negative possibilities in the form of rolls of clouds could blossom in the sky like Sakuras to celebrate the strength and tenacity of its people," the caption alongside the video read.

The colorful fireworks painted the sky with a distinct shade of pink that continued to stun the onlookers for 30 minutes and featured 40,000 choreographed firework shells that blasted off between the sea and sky. Guo­-Qiang has also diversified his interest in art through various mediums like AI. According to his official website, he developed an artificial intelligence project called cAI, which "is an expansive, experimental art project, a multi-modal synthesis that grows organically alongside the course of his life and with the advancement of new technology." 

You can follow Cai Guo-Qiang (@caistudio) on Instagram for more artistic content.