--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My work is like a dialogue between me and…" description: "\"My work is like a dialogue between me and unseen powers, like alchemy.\" — Cai Guo-Qiang" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/cai-guo-qiang-18878_alchemy_my-work-is-like-a-dialogue-between-me-an_2074096.png" --- # My work is like a dialogue between me and unseen powers… ![“My work is like a dialogue between me and unseen powers, like alchemy.” quote by Cai Guo-Qiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/cai-guo-qiang-18878_alchemy_my-work-is-like-a-dialogue-between-me-an_2074096.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/cai-guo-qiang-18878_alchemy_my-work-is-like-a-dialogue-between-me-an_2074096.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/cai-guo-qiang-18878_alchemy_my-work-is-like-a-dialogue-between-me-an_2074096.png) > “My work is like a dialogue between me and unseen powers, like alchemy.” [Cai Guo-Qiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The creator sees his work as a conversation with unseen forces, transforming raw material into something magical. **In simple terms:** Art is a dialogue with hidden forces, like alchemy. Key Takeaway Embrace mystery in creation. Themes creativity alchemy artistic process Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - studio practice - public installations - performance art Key Concepts Transformation invisible influence Questions to Reflect On - How do you listen to unseen influences? - What role does mystery play in your work? A Different Perspective The unseen powers may be metaphorical, not literal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alchemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alchemy/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Dialogue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dialogue/) [Dialogue Unseen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dialogue-unseen-4018188/) [Like Alchemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-alchemy-3359718/) [Like Dialogue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-dialogue-768173/) [Unseen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unseen/) [Unseen Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unseen-powers-941261/) ## Related quotes > [Voting is like alchemy - taking an abstract value and breathing life into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/voting-is-like-alchemy-taking-an-abstract-value-and-breathing-life/) [Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/) > [I think there are unseen powers who don't want pop music to be anything other than glorified Madonnas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-there-are-unseen-powers-who-don-t-want-pop-music-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The Kiss. It seemed like more than a kiss. It felt more like alchemy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blakely-bennett/the-kiss-it-seemed-like-more-than-a-kiss-it-felt-more-like-alchemy/) [Blakely Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blakely-bennett/) > [Women from earliest times have been used as conveniences of communication with unseen, inaccessible powers, but always in the sense that such exposing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/women-from-earliest-times-have-been-used-as-conveniences-of/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [There is nothing left worth preserving in the notions of unseen powers, controlling human destiny, to which obedience and worship are due.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/there-is-nothing-left-worth-preserving-in-the-notions-of-unseen/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [When I go to the cinema, I want to have a cinematic experience. Some people ignore the sound and you end up seeing something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-ramsay/when-i-go-to-the-cinema-i-want-to-have-a-cinematic-experience-some-2/) [Lynne Ramsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-ramsay/) > [“In this sense, reading the text is like a dialogue with the author, and the processing of two segments could be seen as analogous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-this-sense-reading-the-text-is-like-a-dialogue-with-the-author-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I like dialogue that is slightly more brittle than life. I have always admired and wished to write one of those 1940s film scripts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-like-dialogue-that-is-slightly-more-brittle-than-life-i-have-always/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Something like film, I guess there are so many elements to it, like the dialogue and what makes sense culturally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomston/something-like-film-i-guess-there-are-so-many-elements-to-it-like-the/) [Thomston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomston/) > [The whole idea of action being a carrier of information is something that comes directly from theater. That's, in some ways, the one thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keller-easterling/the-whole-idea-of-action-being-a-carrier-of-information-is-something/) [Keller Easterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keller-easterling/) > [I like dialogue in novels. I wanted to avoid laying history on with a trowel - appearing to be lecturing, as opposed to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-perlman/i-like-dialogue-in-novels-i-wanted-to-avoid-laying-history-on-with-a/) [Elliot Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-perlman/) > [With dialogue, people say a lot of things they don't mean. I like dialogue when it's used in a way when the body language…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-ramsay/with-dialogue-people-say-a-lot-of-things-they-don-t-mean-i-like/) [Lynne Ramsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-ramsay/) > [I need to be in front of my obstacle. I like to have a back dialogue; I like to talk with people; I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maiwenn/i-need-to-be-in-front-of-my-obstacle-i-like-to-have-a-back-dialogue-i/) [Maiwenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maiwenn/) > [I'm aware that dialogue isn't my strength. I use it as a device. I don't particularly like dialogue which is part of the problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lucas/i-m-aware-that-dialogue-isn-t-my-strength-i-use-it-as-a-device-i-don/) [George Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lucas/) > [“I went because I was interested in the alchemy of issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-went-because-i-was-interested-in-the-alchemy-of-issues/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## More by Cai Guo-Qiang > [I lived in Japan for eight years before moving to New York, but I was looking forward to a place like America to change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/i-lived-in-japan-for-eight-years-before-moving-to-new-york-but-i-was/) [Cai Guo-Qiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/) > [Anyone can be seduced by the possession of power and influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/anyone-can-be-seduced-by-the-possession-of-power-and-influence/) [Cai Guo-Qiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/) > [When I was young, the constraints of Chinese society and my personal timid and cautious nature both drove me to seek a means to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/when-i-was-young-the-constraints-of-chinese-society-and-my-personal/) [Cai Guo-Qiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/) > [In Quanzhou, I have a lot of influence from superstition. I would go to the temple with my grandmother and mother. That is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/in-quanzhou-i-have-a-lot-of-influence-from-superstition-i-would-go-to/) [Cai Guo-Qiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/) > [In my own art, I try to use my personal voice and effort to enable some Chinese people to see the possibilities of another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/in-my-own-art-i-try-to-use-my-personal-voice-and-effort-to-enable/) [Cai Guo-Qiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/) > [For me it's really important that the work here displays an aesthetic of decay along with the sunken boat with the broken ceramic pieces.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/for-me-it-s-really-important-that-the-work-here-displays-an-aesthetic/) [Cai Guo-Qiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/) > [I have always found that if, while creating an artwork, the artist constantly feels that some accident would occur if he is not careful,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/i-have-always-found-that-if-while-creating-an-artwork-the-artist/) [Cai Guo-Qiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/) > [For my art, there is a common theme most of the time: it is using the things we can see to search for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/for-my-art-there-is-a-common-theme-most-of-the-time-it-is-using-the/) [Cai Guo-Qiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/) > [One reason I chose gunpowder is that I had the good luck in my environment to be exposed to gunpowder. The other reason is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/one-reason-i-chose-gunpowder-is-that-i-had-the-good-luck-in-my/) [Cai Guo-Qiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/) > [Using gunpowder as a medium became a way to liberate myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/using-gunpowder-as-a-medium-became-a-way-to-liberate-myself/) [Cai Guo-Qiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/) > [The boyhood dream of becoming a painter stays important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/the-boyhood-dream-of-becoming-a-painter-stays-important-to-me/) [Cai Guo-Qiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/) > [Computer animation is one way to liberate people from their circumstantial gravity, and it is one way to give them mental freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/computer-animation-is-one-way-to-liberate-people-from-their/) [Cai Guo-Qiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/) > [In any country, in any city, there will be political influence on what is said, what kind of images are to be projected and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/in-any-country-in-any-city-there-will-be-political-influence-on-what/) [Cai Guo-Qiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/) > [Everyone has their moments of solitude, difficulties, and vulnerability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/everyone-has-their-moments-of-solitude-difficulties-and-vulnerability/) [Cai Guo-Qiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/) > [Any work that is born out of natural serendipity or reverts to simpler times is poignant for people - in any era.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/any-work-that-is-born-out-of-natural-serendipity-or-reverts-to/) [Cai Guo-Qiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/) [Explore all 34 Cai Guo-Qiang quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/) ## More Alchemy quotes > [“I went because I was interested in the alchemy of issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-went-because-i-was-interested-in-the-alchemy-of-issues/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [As in the instances of alchemy, astrology, witchcraft, and other such popular creeds, political economy, has a plausible idea at the root of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/as-in-the-instances-of-alchemy-astrology-witchcraft-and-other-such/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [“...the world is only the visible aspect of God. And that what alchemy does is to bring spiritual perfection into contact with the material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-is-only-the-visible-aspect-of-god-and-that-what-alchemy/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Art is Alchemy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-nicolai/art-is-alchemy/) [ELLE NICOLAI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-nicolai/) > [“You must learn to bend to open windows, my friend. That is why artists and dancers are closest to God. They clench their chests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/you-must-learn-to-bend-to-open-windows-my-friend-that-is-why-artists/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [Every human being has gone through a tragedy of sorts. And the idea is that you have two paths you can take, you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jillian-michaels/every-human-being-has-gone-through-a-tragedy-of-sorts-and-the-idea-is/) [Jillian Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jillian-michaels/) > [“Introspection does not need to be a still life. It can be an active alchemy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/introspection-does-not-need-to-be-a-still-life-it-can-be-an-active/) [Anaïs Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [ Everybody can close their eyes, picture a dream house or a perfect place \[where\] they'd like to have a picnic. But actually creating it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-corgan/everybody-can-close-their-eyes-picture-a-dream-house-or-a-perfect/) [Billy Corgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-corgan/) > [“She pushed the book towards them, and Harry and Ron read: The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/she-pushed-the-book-towards-them-and-harry-and-ron-read-the-ancient/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [For I am every dead thing In whom love wrought new alchemy For his art did express A quintessence even from nothingness, From dull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/for-i-am-every-dead-thing-in-whom-love-wrought-new-alchemy-for-his/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [Arya Maloney updates the basis and practice of transpersonal psychology by using the spiritual principles of India's masters and the transformational alchemy inherent in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/arya-maloney-updates-the-basis-and-practice-of-transpersonal/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [“To follow our bliss and dive deeply into the mysteries of fragrance, color, and taste; blend with the magnificent diversity of mother nature; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prana-gogia/to-follow-our-bliss-and-dive-deeply-into-the-mysteries-of-fragrance/) [Prana Gogia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prana-gogia/) > [ I want to explain the new alchemy \[in the "From Earth, Air, Fire, and Water to a New Vision of Mind and Time"\], which… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-alan-wolf/i-want-to-explain-the-new-alchemy-in-the-from-earth-air-fire-and/) [Fred Alan Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-alan-wolf/) > [We swung over the hills and over the town and back again, and I saw how a man can be master of a craft,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/we-swung-over-the-hills-and-over-the-town-and-back-again-and-i-saw/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [We find that alchemy has to do with magicians or magic and may even have roots in the Chaldean people who lived in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-alan-wolf/we-find-that-alchemy-has-to-do-with-magicians-or-magic-and-may-even/) [Fred Alan Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-alan-wolf/) [Browse all 349 Alchemy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alchemy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My work is like a dialogue between me and unseen powers, like alchemy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cai Guo-Qiang" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/my-work-is-like-a-dialogue-between-me-and-unseen-powers-like-alchemy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alchemy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/my-work-is-like-a-dialogue-between-me-and-unseen-powers-like-alchemy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/cai-guo-qiang-18878_alchemy_my-work-is-like-a-dialogue-between-me-an_2074096.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/cai-guo-qiang-18878_alchemy_my-work-is-like-a-dialogue-between-me-an_2074096.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/cai-guo-qiang-18878_alchemy_my-work-is-like-a-dialogue-between-me-an_2074096.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My work is like a dialogue between me and unseen powers, like alchemy.” — Cai Guo-Qiang", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Cai Guo-Qiang", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My work is like a dialogue...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/my-work-is-like-a-dialogue-between-me-and-unseen-powers-like-alchemy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/my-work-is-like-a-dialogue-between-me-and-unseen-powers-like-alchemy/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```