UK Tibet Groups Condemn Cai Guo-Qiang’s ‘Cultural Violence’ Ahead of London Exhibition

[LONDON] A coalition of Tibet groups (1) in the UK strongly condemns Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang for his recent explosive firework display in Tibet, which comes days before his major London exhibition, “Gunpowder and Abstraction 2015-2025,” opens at the White Cube on 26 September. (2) By desecrating a sacred Tibetan mountain (3), Cai Guo-Qiang has committed an act of cultural violence that is ethically indefensible; an act that now renders his London show highly controversial.

Cai Guo-Qiang’s performance in Shigatse, Tibet, which has been under brutal Chinese occupation for over 70 years, (4) has caused irreparable harm to a mountain revered by local Tibetans. Carried out without the consent of the Tibetan people, this was not “artistic expression” but a flagrant act of cultural and ecological violence.

Tibet, known as the “Third Pole,” holds the largest store of freshwater outside the Arctic and Antarctic, sustaining nearly two billion people across Asia. Explosive displays have a permanent impact on this fragile high-altitude ecosystem, polluting water sources, disturbing wildlife, and accelerating glacial melt. For Tibetans, who are the rightful stewards of this land, this act is an extension of cultural erasure under occupation.

“Celebrating an artist who has blatantly caused environmental and cultural destruction in a country under occupation is deeply troubling. We firmly believe that a gunpowder artist who uses explosive materials to blatantly disregard the sanctity of a politically and ecologically fragile region should not be celebrated on the global stage. While Cai Guo-Qiang’s explosive artwork is being celebrated in London, Tibetans in Tibet will suffer the aftermath of his actions for generations to come”. Tenzin Rabga, Campaigns Lead for Free Tibet

“We call on White Cube to publicly acknowledge the profound controversy that now surrounds the artist due to his actions in Tibet, and we urge them to reconsider providing a platform for work that aligns with the systematic destruction of Tibetan culture. Those who benefit from and exploit the occupation of Tibet like Cai, do not deserve a platform in a prestigious art gallery like the White Cube”. Phuntsok Norbu, Chairperson for the Tibetan Community in Britain

China’s systematic repression in Tibet is stark. In February 2025, Freedom House assigned Tibet a global freedom score of zero out of one hundred, lower than North Korea (5), a stark reminder of the systematic repression and destruction facing Tibetan culture today. To platform an artist like Cai Guo-Qiang without scrutiny is to become complicit in the very destruction his work in Tibet represents.

History shows us that cultural destruction has been tied to occupation and colonialism, and Environmental defenders (6) challenging China’s exploitation there have faced long prison sentences and torture.
We call on cultural institutions, curators, artists, and audiences to take a stand. Art must never be used to mask injustice or celebrate the destruction of a repressed culture.

MEDIA NOTE:
Tibetans in London have organised a protest today (25/09/25) from 18:00 – 20:00, outside the White Cube Gallery (144-152, Bermondsey St, London SE1 3TQ), to coincide with the preview of Cai Guo-Qiang’s London Exhibition.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. Tibetan Community in Britain, Free Tibet, Students for a Free Tibet- London, International Tibet Network, Voluntary Tibet Advocacy Group- UK (V-TAG UK)
2. Cai Guo-Qiang, Gunpowder and Abstraction 2015–2025, from 26 September – 9 November 2025  at White Cube Bermondsey, 144–152 Bermondsey Street, London https://www.whitecube.com/gallery-exhibitions/cai-guo-qiang-bermondsey-2025
3. Arc’teryx fireworks display in Tibet prompts environmental outcry | China | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/22/arcteryx-fireworks-display-tibet-environmental-outcry
4. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTE: ‘Tibet’ refers to the three Tibetan provinces of Amdo, Kham and U-Tsang. In the 1960s, the Chinese government split Tibet into new administrative divisions: the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR), and Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures within Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan Provinces. When the Chinese government references Tibet, it is referring to the TAR.
   Read: Chinese occupation of Tibet https://freetibet.org/freedom-for-tibet/occupation-of-tibet/
5. Freedom House, 2025, Global Freedom Score, https://freedomhouse.org/country/tibet/freedom-world/2025
6. UN Human Rights Experts Question China’s ‘Deliberate Attempt” To Forget Tibetan Human Rights Defenders – International Tibet Network https://tibetnetwork.org/un-human-rights-experts-question-chinas-deliberate-attempt-to-forget-tibetan-human-rights-defenders/
   Environmental Defenders of Tibet: China’s Persecution of Tibetan Environmental Defenders, International Campaign for Tibet (June 2022) https://savetibet.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2205-ICFT-Report_V8.pdf

Contact:

Tenzin Rabga, Free Tibet: [email protected]  +44 7470 007412

Rashi Jauhri, International Tibet Network: [email protected] +44 7587 09487