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"Life was hard, ... I worked on a limited budget. But it didn't stop me from being active, innovative and bold," he says.

Cai left for New York City in 1995, with a grant from the Asian Cultural Council. Since the 20 years he has toured the world with his artworks, and recently felt the need to re-visit the places where it all began for him.

The exhibition at Yokohama Museum of Art follows the completion of Sky Ladder, a 2.5-minute firework performance staged in mid-June for Cai's family in his hometown.

A 500-meter-long ladder, strapped with bags of gunpowder, was pulled up in air by a gigantic white balloon and then the ladder was set aflame. As it burned from the end, the ladder burst into a dragon of golden flames into the dark sky.

Cai says the project realized his childhood dream of "talking to the universe", and fulfilled his feelings of gratitude for those that supported him back home.

While There and Back Again serves as an academic retrospective of the methodology of a young, fearless Cai, he hopes to find inspiration for future creations.

The exhibition runs until Oct 18.

Contact the writer at linqi@chinadaily.com.cn