One thing I love about living in London is there is always something to do, sometimes too much to do – hence why this post is a few months late. But nonetheless this artistic exhibition is worth sharing and as my mum always says – better late than never.
Royal Academy of Arts was taken over by Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei in an exhibition that was bold, challenging and quite simply fascinating. The exhibition presented a collection of two decades of Ai Wei Wei’s work; this was a close creative collaboration by the curator who worked alongside his studio in Beijing.
Ai Wei Wei’s installations displayed a mixture of challenging issues, many taken from his own experience on human rights and freedom in a bold manner.
Here is a run down of what you missed without the bustling crowds, starting with this detailed work called Bed; it was created in Ironwood without using nail or glue to secure the piece.
One of the installations that gained lots of attention was Grape from 2010; this piece was made using 27 wooden stools. The cluster of Qing held together was displayed in a spiral formation.
My eyes automatically drifted to the table installations, based on Qing dynasty tables Ai Wei Wei had skilled craftsmen redesign the tables with two of the table legs planted on the floor and the other two up against the wall.
The meaning behind this piece was to symbolise the strains we are faced against with the pressures of tradition.
One of Ai Wei Wei’s most impressive installations was Straight, the piece included 90 tonnes of steel reinforcing rods, and these were straightened by hand after being twisted in the Sichuan earthquake in 2008.
This was one of the heaviest installations the Royal Academy of Arts has housed to date. The rods were laid out in a carpet across the Burlington House floor after consulting structural engineers to check the building could handle the weight of course.
Ai Wei Wei’s piece Straight has a powerful meaning marking respect for the 5,000 children who died in the earthquake as their schools collapsed, the metal was part of the ruins from the schools.
Famously Ai used his blog to share the names of the victims and officials involved in the schools construction that lead to the schools collapse. This led to Ai Wei Wei being arrested and his blog being shut down, as his freedom of speech was taken from him.
The exhibition didn’t fail to keep you completely immersed in every part, as you’d step into a new shocking space.
Unbelievably Ai Wei Wei’s studio was demolished with huge speculation this was part of a bid to flatten his views after being outspoken about Chinese leaders.
Concrete and brick rubble from the artist’s destroyed Shanghai studio, was set in an ornamental wooden frame marking the stony silence in the piece Souvenir from Shanghai.
Ai Wei Wei’s He Xie – the sea of porcelain crabs refers to censorship, playing on the similar-sounding ‘river crab’ and ‘harmonious’, part of a Chinese Communist slogan.
One of the installations that I found myself obsessing over was the Twelve Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) and four Neolithic (5000–3000 BC) vases with industrial paint.
The powerful use of colour added a burst of energy to the exhibition.
Fragments were a seemingly chaotic structure made from reclaimed wood that resembles the borders of a map of China when viewed from above.
As you stumble underneath it is hard to realize which sections relate to which parts of the map, but the craftsmanship involved is sensational and again another genius concept that gets you thinking.
Into the next room was a huge expanse of marble grass that dominated the room with a marble pushchair protruding through the grass, the installation named Marble Stroller.
Marble is a material that Ai Wei Wei often works with, in this instance he pushes the boundaries of the material similarly to the way he pushes the state.
Interestingly CCTV cameras were also made out of marble, this marked the 20 or more cameras that surveyed his studio whilst he lived under watch by the government.
The next room presented four cubes all made from different materials, one being a block of compacted tea.
Obviously my favourite cube being the tea addict that I am, users were intrigued when guessing what material it was many sniffed the familiar scent to help resolve what is was.
Wallpaper wrapped the walls of the next room, with an impressive impact the print being surveillance cameras pointing at a twitter icon.
As part of Ai Wei Wei challenging his government’s oppression of its people, he openly vocalizes his opinions. This led to his twitter account being shut down; the wallpaper symbolized the message of how the government had impacted Ai Wei Wei by continuously closely keeping him under surveillance.
This installation seemed to be a popular piece being snapped happily by visitors and shared profusely on social media to support Ai Wei Wei’s views. I couldn’t help but join in, this being the only pic captured without my eyes closed!
In this room there were small cells that showed the incredibly tiny space that he was confined to when undergoing his sentence. Whilst imprisoned he was monitored at all hours of the day even when showering!
One of the final installations to the unreal exhibition was the Bicycle Chandelier; stacked bicycles combined with crystals provided one dramatic ending to an incredible exhibition.
As I departed I checked out the entrance of the Royal Academy of Arts that had the structural Tree installation located.
Ai Wei Wei is known for his social media platforms that he is constantly communicating with his mass followers both within China and the rest of the planet. Ai cleverly uses the power of the online world to share thoughts of public opinions and as a platform for those to express themselves.
The exhibition encouraged use of social media at the exhibition, with visitors able to take photographs of every inch of the exhibition (something I hope I’ve achieved in this post).
The hashtag #aiweiwei became a trending topic at times throughout the exhibition running.
