Ai Weiwei

Global artist, creative and activist, Ai Weiwei, positions his art between the contemporary world and traditional Chinese culture, challenging notions of authority through processes of production and investigation. Whether that be through architecture, public art and performance, Ai Weiwei speaks out on topics he believes important, using universal symbols of humanity and community such as bicycles, seeds, trees and flowers, as well as existing issues of borders and conflicts. He is one of the leading cultural figures for freedom of expression both in China and internationally.

Born in Beijing in 1957, he grew up in the far northwest of China, where he lived under troubled conditions due to his father’s exile. In 1978, he enrolled in the Beijing Film Academy to study animation and was one of the founders of the early avant grade art groups called the “Stars”. Moving to American in the early 80s, Ai was part of the first wave of students to study abroad following China’s reform in 1980. He gained public recognition for his conceptual art made from readymade objects. 

Ai Weiwei uses art as a means of confronting the socio-political systems of China, manipulating cultural artefacts that juxtapose the materiality and traditions of China’s imperial history with its current modernisation. ‘Sichuan Earthquake Name Project’ is a blog created in response to the government’s concealment of the disaster’s death toll. The blog is just one of many initiatives that Ai has created that openly criticises the Chinese Communist leadership. One of his most poignant installations, ‘Sunflower seeds’ at the Tate Modern, London, featured 100 million hand-painted porcelain seeds that encouraged visitors to walk upon the seeds considering the fragile Chinese populace. 

Throughout Ai Weiwei’s career, he has been an unrelenting critic of the Chinese Communist party, has been detained in jail and has lived in exile, which has only charged his artistic output. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including the Chinese Contemporary Art Award, Honorary Academician at the Royal Academy of Arts and his works have been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions.