More than just an artist; political activist, sculptor, photographer, and architect Ai Weiwei merges traditional techniques and imagery with personal experience in order to show his tumultuous relationship with the Chinese government. “He Xie,” an installation of thousands of porcelain crabs. They are (not too carefully) arranged in a large circle piled up on one another. The individual objects become one pile which makes them virtually indistinguishable from each other. The piece is a reaction to the demolition of Weiwei’s studio ordered by Chinese government officials.Meaning “river crab” but sounding similar to “harmonious” in Chinese, “He Xie” has also been adapted into slang meaning censorship, something Weiwei is not a stranger to.
His passport has been revoked, his twitter deleted, and work destroyed all in an effort to quiet his dissonance. This piece references a dinner held at his recently demolished studio where the main course was indeed river crabs. This is symbolic of the failed attempts the government has made to maintain harmony by censoring Weiwei.Despite their efforts, Weiwei still spoke openly to reporters, and maintained a blog while on house arrest following an 81 day stint in prison on charges of tax evasion.
Charges Weiwei questions because he maintains that he was only interrogated about his political actions. For “Coca-Cola Vase,” Ai painted “Coca-Cola” in the company’s familiar script using silver paint on a Neolithic vase. He also has a series of these pots dipped in acrylic paint. These pieces incorporate the most recognized forms from ancient tradition and combine them with contemporary advertisements and showy colors.He’s condemning China for quite literally paving over its history, tearing down ancient temples to build the future of the 21st century.
He references this destruction through his own destruction of an ancient vase in his “Dropping the Urn” triptych. Perhaps his most politically charged work is in response to a horrible natural disaster. Following the devastation and tragedy of the Sichuan 2008 earthquake, Ai worked to gather information suppressed by Chinese authorities on the number of victims who were school aged children.Ai has presented the name, birth year, gender, and class grade for each of more than 5,000 students killed in the earthquake, or missing after the fact. Schools across Sichuan didn’t meet building codes that exist to lessen or nullify damages done by natural disasters.
If it were not for the shoddy, “tofu” construction of the buildings, many of the children listed could still be alive. The piece is a product of the rogue work, research, visits, and online media such as Twitter employed by Ai and his assistants. It is accompanied by a nearly four hour reading of the names, individualizing the uniformity and anonymity of the events.The publication of this information online is where the real conflict lies between Weiwei and his country, and it has earned him a sharp rebuke both online through censorship and physical violence.
He was detained and beaten by police following the posting of the names, which led to another series of work which consists of twitter snapshots of him in an elevator with authorities, and of his hospitalization and brain surgery following the beatings. He also has several sculptures comprised of rebar gathered on site.Weiwei’s relationship to the Chinese government has earned him quite the reputation across the world. His statements carry political weight but also artistic skill. He responds to what is happening, and makes the public aware of actions that the authorities try to keep hidden.
His identity is forged by the care for the public. Through individual and group experience he draws his inspiration. The use of social commentary propels his work to a place that incorporates online media such as blogging and twitter, making his work accessible and meaningful to the millions.
