A 2005 work commissioned by Valencia’s IVAM (Institut Valencia d’Art Modern), curated by David Rodriguez.

From the artist’s website:

Cai Guo-Qiang conceived Black Rainbow: Explosion Project for Valencia as part of a series of salutes that will take place in cities across the world (Black Rainbows are also scheduled for Edinburgh and Beijing). Other than Century with Mushroom Clouds, Cai GuoQiang¡¦s project series in the 1990s for which mushroom clouds were simulated with pyrotechnics in symbolic sites worldwide, including New York City and a nuclear test site in Nevada, Black Rainbow is unique as a project sited in multiple venues. The repetition of Black Rainbow in the international community is intended as a series of omens of widespread unease. While signaling alarm like ancient smoke signals, the ominous arc of smoke in Black Rainbow also serves as a somber and dreamlike salute and reminds us, despite our contemporary associations with explosive materials and warfare, that violence and its signifiers can possess ethereal and profound beauty