“Sunflower Seeds invites us to look more closely at the ‘Made in China’ phenomenon and the geo-politics of cultural and economic exchange today.”
In China, sunflower seeds are a staple delicacy especially reserved for Chinese festivities. And Ai Weiwei's most recent piece, “Sunflower Seeds,” consists of roughly 100 million hand-painted and hand sculpted porcelain sunflower seeds covering the vast expanse of Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern, to the depth of about four inches. Each seed was made by one of the 1,600 residents of Jingdezhen, a village that once provided porcelain to the imperial court of China.
For Ai Weiwei, sunflower seeds — a common street snack shared by friends — carry personal associations with Mao Zedong's brutal Cultural Revolution (1966-76). While individuals were stripped of personal freedom, propaganda images depicted Chairman Mao as the sun and the mass of people as sunflowers turning towards him. Yet Ai remembers the sharing of sunflower seeds as a gesture of human compassion, providing a space for pleasure, friendship and kindness during a time of extreme poverty, repression and uncertainty.
And as such, Weiwei's Sunflower Seeds challenges our first impressions: what you see is not what you see, and what you see is not what it means. The sculptural installation is made up of what appear to be millions of sunflower seed husks, apparently identical but actually unique. Although they look realistic, each seed is made out of porcelain. And far from being industrially produced, 'readymade' or found objects, they have been intricately hand-crafted by hundreds of skilled artisans. Poured into the interior of the Turbine Hall's vast industrial space, the seeds form a seemingly infinite landscape. The precious nature of the material, the effort of production and the narrative and personal content make this work a powerful commentary on the human condition.
In China, sunflower seeds are a staple delicacy especially reserved for Chinese festivities. And Ai Weiwei's most recent piece, “Sunflower Seeds,” consists of roughly 100 million hand-painted and hand sculpted porcelain sunflower seeds covering the vast expanse of Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern, to the depth of about four inches. Each seed was made by one of the 1,600 residents of Jingdezhen, a village that once provided porcelain to the imperial court of China.
For Ai Weiwei, sunflower seeds — a common street snack shared by friends — carry personal associations with Mao Zedong's brutal Cultural Revolution (1966-76). While individuals were stripped of personal freedom, propaganda images depicted Chairman Mao as the sun and the mass of people as sunflowers turning towards him. Yet Ai remembers the sharing of sunflower seeds as a gesture of human compassion, providing a space for pleasure, friendship and kindness during a time of extreme poverty, repression and uncertainty.
And as such, Weiwei's Sunflower Seeds challenges our first impressions: what you see is not what you see, and what you see is not what it means. The sculptural installation is made up of what appear to be millions of sunflower seed husks, apparently identical but actually unique. Although they look realistic, each seed is made out of porcelain. And far from being industrially produced, 'readymade' or found objects, they have been intricately hand-crafted by hundreds of skilled artisans. Poured into the interior of the Turbine Hall's vast industrial space, the seeds form a seemingly infinite landscape. The precious nature of the material, the effort of production and the narrative and personal content make this work a powerful commentary on the human condition.
3 comments:
Wow. Where is this, in China I assume? it's amazing. I can't believe they let people walk on them (hopefully without their shoes). I wonder how long it took to create.
it is actually at the Tate Modern in London. And the sad thing is that they closed off the exhibit to people walking on it/laying it/rolling around in it shortly after it opened, due to the fact that the seeds are not varnished, and the dry clay slip is rubbing off making dust that could potentially cause respiratory problems if you roll around in the pile. i think it took the entire village of 1600 people a few years to make all 4 million seeds....
I wonder how much he paid the villagers. So cool. I would have loved to be able to walk on that.
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