Artist Decorates Christmas Tree With Explosives

By Dorothy Tan, 21 Dec 2012

Chinese pyrotechnic artist Cai Guo-Qiang has decorated a Christmas tree with explosives—and then detonated them with aplomb.

The performance art piece—named “Black Christmas Tree”—was ignited near the Freer Gallery of Art and the first display lasted a short one and a half seconds.

Dotting the the tree with fiery splotches as the display to place, the explosives are designed to mimic the twinkling lights on more traditional Christmas trees.

For the environmentally-minded, rest assured that the charcoal-generated smoke is relatively eco-friendly and no tree was harm in the process—the tree is still alive post-detonation.