Inspired by the beauty of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), Cai Guo-Qiang wanted to explore the idea of Australia as a ‘last paradise’. He imagined a circle of animals gathered around a single pristine waterhole, a place where, ‘Animals of all kinds — predators and prey, ferocious beasts and gentle animals — all of them depend on this body of water’.

In this version of the work, 45 animals from across the world pause to drink together. Heritage was first shown with 99 animals; however, the artwork is flexible in scale and can be presented in multiples of nine. These lifelike creatures — modelled from polystyrene, resin and dyed goat hair — congregate on the pure white sand, pausing for a moment to drink together. A single drip of water animates the glass-like surface of the pond, hinting at movement to come.

Cai describes this as a moment of ‘religious solemnity’ and is interested in representing underlying and at times opposing forces: peace and violence; tension and release; co-existence and competition. Is this a vision of idyllic harmony, or of an uneasy future in which a sole water source remains? What pushed the animals out of their natural habitats? What led such an unexpected array of species to come together to quench their thirst?