The humble ladder is an unassuming object, waiting patiently in the corner of a shed until it is needed, and then serving a unique purpose that no other object could until it is put back in the corner, quietly out of the way until next time.  The strength of a ladder and the simple, yet effective construction has inspired artists all over the world, including our old favourite Charlie Brouwer.  This time we have a really explosive artwork to share with you.

Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang works with fireworks and gunpowder to create some stunning large scale artworks that are both fleeting yet highly memorable, including parts of the Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing.  He is said to 'paint with fireworks', organising spectacular displays in Shanghai.  His latest artwork, “Sky Ladder”, has become the subject of Netflix documentary which was released on 14th October.

Cai made the 1,600 foot ladder out of aluminium and wire and filled it with gunpowder.  The top of the structure was attached to a hot air balloon, made from special flame resistant material, which was then launched from a boat.  The whole spectacle took place over the water in the early hours of June 15th, 2015 while his grandmother, to whom the piece was a tribute, watched on a video conference from her nearby home on the island of Huiyu.  Now you can watch the build-up and execution of this amazing ladder of fire in the documentary “Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang”.

Our next artistic use of a ladder comes from New York's Fall for Dance festival in September this year, and we're sure the dancers involved were happy their ladder was not made from fire.  The piece is called Airslice by Brooklyn based Streb Extreme Action, fireand featured dancers performing all manner of gravity defying manoeuvres aboard a giant spinning ladder, which literally sliced through the air.

The ladder was built specially for the performance, as the space between the rungs needed to fit a human body through comfortably, as well as being big enough to accommodate up to six dancers at a time.  The ladder was positioned in a framework, up which the performers climbed to access the ladder, some dancers leaving the ladder at certain points to re-join it later on.  The ladder span horizontally, each end clearing the floor as it passed round with dancers contorting themselves, sometimes continually climbing up and down as it span around and at other times remaining still, dangling from the rungs or entperforming gymnastic holds.  The dancers are so in tune with the spinning of the ladder that they can balance and hold the ladder horizontal for several seconds at a time before the motion pulls it back around.  At one point, five dancers are on the ladder and four are helping push it around on its axis as it builds up speed.  The four helpers are able to stop the ladder and hold it still for a second before sending it spinning in the opposite direction, at one point even holding it for long enough for one dancer to use it like monkey bars.  At one point the dancers turn the ladder into a pendulum by cleverly swinging it to and fro, adding dancers for counterweight at the top and bottom.  It has to be seen to be believed.  It goes without saying that this stunt should not be attempted at home, or on a building site.  In fact, if the HSE had seen this performance, they would have shut it down; none of the performers were wearing hard hats, high-vis, or maintaining three points of contact with the ladder at all times!