Ai Wei Wei is one of China’s most influential artists. This exhibition showcased two decades of the artist’s career, from the time he returned to China from the US in 1993 right up to the present day. It was also his first solo exhibition in the UK since his sunflower seeds installation in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in 2010.
Among the works created specifically for the RA and the courtyard, were a number of large-scale installations; as well as more provacative and visionary works made out of everything from marble and steel, to tea and glass. The chosen works explore a multitude of themes; drawing on Ai Wei Wei’s personal experience to comment on creative freedom, censorship and human rights, as well as examining contemporary Chinese art and society.
Above are a collection of slides, showing some of the works that were displayed at the exhibition.
For me, the larger scale works made the most impact. For example, Straight which was a commemoration of the 5,000 children who died in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake that shattered their jerry-built schools. Ai Wei Wei collected the 90 tonnes of twisted metal from the ruins of the schools, and straightened each piece by hand to make up the floor installation; which looks like a landscape of undulating hills and troughs.
The artist poignantly used his blog to attempt to name the children, and officials responsible for the deadly construction that brought the schools to instant collapse. However, the blog was shutdown and Ai Wei Wei was later illegally incarcerated for 81 days. The incarceration was recreated in the form of six rusting tanks, and forms S.A.C.R.E.D. – an installation of six half life-sized dioramas, with effigies of the artist and two guards. As visitors peer through the grilles; they are able to witness the intimate scrutiny Ai Wei Wei endured during his incarceration. The conditions cramped and claustrophobic. The guards always watchful and silent – menacing.
Marissa Ward 