Cai Guo-Qiang has worked with a broad range of creative mediums, from painting, installation, video art, and performance art to new technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), NFTs, blockchain, and artificial intelligence. Grounded in the conceptual foundations of Eastern philosophy and contemporary social issues, his often-site-specific artworks establish a dialogue between viewers’ own local culture, history, nature, and the larger universe that connects them. Fragile was commissioned for his first solo exhibition in the Arab world, Saraab, in 2011 by MATHAF: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Education City. Consisting of 480 elaborately sculpted Dehua porcelain tiles, Fragile features traditional arabesque patterns of leaves and flowers superimposed with exploded gunpowder forming the Arabic word “hash” meaning fragile. Guo-Qiang’s work highlights the historical relationship between China and the Arab and Islamic worlds. It aims to reignite historical and cultural symbols and connections dating back to the ancient maritime Silk Road in which the Dehua tiles were exchanged for spices, resins, and other goods. With the support of local volunteers, Fragile brings together diverse cultures and historical eras, uniting them through collective creative efforts in the present.