Ai Weiwei Exhibition at the RA

Hello everyone!

 

Happy new year!! (I know it's a little late, but better late than never).

 

For today's blog post I wanted to look back on the best exhibition I went to in 2015, the Ai Weiwei exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA). This exhibition was truly inspirational, and incredibly moving!

 

This was the entrance to the gallery. It was a small courtyard outside filled with Ai Weiwei's reconstructed trees.

This exhibition has been very popular. I thought I would make this post so that, if you didn't go or just want to experience it again, you will hopefully feel like you came to the exhibition with me! I hope you enjoy!

 

This post will be quite long, so please feel free to just scroll though and pick out what interests you!

https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/ai-weiwei

The entrance

Before we had walked into the exhibition there was an installation outside in the courtyard of the gallery. The installation was by Ai Weiwei and his team and was of trees that had been reconstructed using ancient Chinese techniques.

I noticed that a lot of Ai Weiwei's work is based on specific materials used to create symbolism and a deeper meaning.

A lot of his work created intrigue. I tried to show this through my photography of the exhibition. There was a sculpture of a chair in the corner, where you could sit, reflect and take in the intertwining branches of the installation. 

'Bed'

This piece was made from Qing Dynasty timber using traditional Chinese cabinetry methods. The 'bed' represents an unfolding map of china. Furthermore the idea of a 'bed' symbolises the idea that life usually begins on a bed and it is an important part of our lives.

 

 

Honestly, at first I didn't really know what to expect from the exhibition, as I had only seen a few of Ai Weiwei's works online, before going. Luckily I had the audio guide, this really helped me to further understand what these abstract pieces represented and soon enough I was completely enthralled by the exhibition.

There was a lot of detail in this first piece which made it quite mesmerising.

'Grapes, 2010'

This sculpture was in the next room on the right. It is made out 27 Qing Dynasty wooden stools.

 

This whole room had sculptures linked with the idea of giving precious antiques a 'new form'. This is incredibly controversial and a lot of people believe that Ai Weiwei is destroying these antiques. However, Ai does this to express the problem society has in valuing antiques over human lives.

 

This was another antique that has been given a 'new form'.

 

Personally, I loved this idea! I feel that it stood out even more because of its controversial nature, purposely trying to shock to evoke emotions, opinions and possible change.

'Straight, 2008-2012'

This was my favourite piece of the whole exhibition. I had heard many times before, that art is only art if it makes you feel. Before seeing this piece I had never truly been emotionally moved by art.

 

The more I learnt about this piece, the more emotional was the experience. I cried. This was the first time art has made me cry.

This huge installation piece filled the room. In the middle were thousands of straightened poles pilled one on top of the other. These poles were from the ruins of a school in china from an earthquake. The money to make the school resistant to earthquakes was pocketed for greed. When there was a earthquake the school collapsed and thousands of children died.

 

On the walls were the names of the every single child, written in both Chinese and English. On the other side of the room there were framed photographs of the wreckage and a TV playing a video of people walking around the destruction and expressing their thoughts and feelings.

 

Ai Weiwei and his team took each pole from the destruction and had taken years to straighten out each one. I found this symbolism so incredibly powerful as it expressed the neglect in not making the school resistant to earthquakes; yet, Ai Weiwei and his team could go to the effort of straightening each one. Showing how possible it was to have prevented all these deaths.



 

Once I saw the photographs of the destruction, clearly being able to see the bent poles in the rubble, I cried. I cried because it suddenly hit me that we were standing next to the same poles in the photographs, the same poles in the destruction. I stood there watching everyone looking at the installation, admiring its shape and structure; yet, these poles had heard, seen and caused true terror and suffering. This was wrong.

 

I cried because of the injustice. I cried out of frustration. I cried because this could have been prevented. This installation has motivated me further, to know I want to do something that helps people in the world and that it is possible.

'Souvenir from Shanghai, 2012'

This sculpture was made from the bricks and rubble of Ai weiwei's art studio that had suddenly been knocked down by the government for no just reason.

 

Ai Weiwei is not only an artist he is also an activist. Therefore he is sometimes seen as a threat and is silenced by events like smashing down his newly built art studio.



 

'He Xie, 2011'

This piece was in the corner of the room and was made from 3,000 porcelain crabs. This was another piece that represented the defiance against the government attempts to take away freedom of speech.

Again the materials used are key in the piece. These crabs almost look as if they are a cheap seaside souvenir; however, they are made of porcelain. This contrast makes the piece stand out.

'Colours vases, 2015' and 'Ai Weiwei dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, 1995'

Again, this is another controversial topic of 'destroying' antiques, or giving them a 'new form'.

 



 

In the foreground of this photograph, are the 'coloured vases, 2015'. These were twelve Han and four Neolithic vases covered in bright, industrial paint. In the background are three large photos of Ai Weiwei smashing a Han Dynasty Urn.

 

I'll be honest, this did shock me at first, and I had conflicting opinions. However, I think this shows that his piece worked successfully, as it evoked emotion within me. The idea behind this was to express that society is wrong in valuing these antiques over lives.

Ai Weiwei has ground down vases to dust, giving them a 'new form'.

'Fragments'

This huge installation piece was created from salvaged timber from Qing Dynasty temples. You are able to walk in and out of the piece. I really liked being able to do this, as it made me feel more of a connection to the piece and to be able to see every detail.

 

The work was intentionally chaotic looking, and from above the piece was a 3D map of the intricate borders of China.

'Marble Pram' and 'Cao' (meaning grass)

This piece was entirely made of marble. The room was all bout surveillance and the invasion of privacy.

Due to Ai Weiwei being a controversial activist, he was watched by the government and they were also taking photos of his child. The pram symbolises this.



The title of ' Cao' (grass) is also a pun on the Chinese pronunciation of Cao as it can also mean 'f*** off'. (Sorry for the bad language). This conveys Ai Weiwei's fight against being watched by the government.





 

'A Ton of Tea'

This room was filled with four cubes made from different materials and representing different aspects of his life growing up in china.

 



I took this with a slow shutter speed to create this effect. The main cube in the shot is made of tea.



'S.C.A.R.E.D, 2011-2013'

This was a six part installation in one room. There were six large metal boxes, representing the cell Ai Weiwei was kept in for 81 days, just for being an activist.

 

 

The boxes were incredibly life-like, representing his terrible experience. There were small slots in the boxed to look though making you feel like you were a CCTV camera, being intrusive in watching Ai Weiwei.

 



This was the wall paper in the room.





'Bicycle Chandelier, 2015'

 

This was the last piece of the exhibition and had quite a contrast to the rest of the exhibition. It was in representation of bicycles being popular in china and was made specially for the RA exhibition.



 

So there we go!

 

Thank you for getting to the end! And thanks for coming with me to the Ai Weiwei exhibition (I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did).

 

2016 is going to be a big year for the blog and I would love for you to join this creative adventure, be inspired and inspire!

 

Let me know what you think of the exhibition and any of the pieces. I'd love to hear your opinion!

 

Thanks again for reading!

 

Hope you have a brilliant day!