Ai Weiwei - Filmmaker, Architect, Activist, Collector (The Design Museum London)

Image courtesy of Ai Weiwei Studio

In June 2023, my husband and I flew off on a trip that took us to Iceland for one week,  and then to London for another two. In London we decided to mix things up, so we chose three museums to visit - The British Museum, The Natural History Museum and The Design Museum - as well as several different areas of London to explore on foot, and five train trips (4 days trips out of London, and an overnight to Bruge). It was amazing.

I love when I travel to expose myself to new experiences, to open myself to new ideas, and to challenge my mind. Hence, I was excited to explore the Ai Weiwei exhibit called Making Sense at The Design Museum. While I am not always great at understanding conceptual art, I am always ready to let what I see wash over me and enjoy whatever emotions rise. This exhibit was incredible. I wish I had been able to see it a second time. Here is an excerpt from the brochure I received on entry.

"Ai Weiwei is one of the most significant and recognized artists working today. Known around the world for his powerful art and activism, Ai does not differentiate between disciplines: his practice glides across art, architecture, design, film, collecting and curating...The exhibition draws on Ai's fascination with historical Chinese artifacts, placing their traditional craftsmanship in dialogue with the more recent history of demolition and urban development in China. The result is a meditation on value – on histories and skills that have been ignored or erased."

This was the first major exhibition to present Ai's work as a commentary on design and what it reveals about our changing values. The show offered past works along with collections of objects and new commissions made especially for this exhibit. The goal? To turn our thoughts to the relationship between extremes - past/present, hand/machine, precious/worthless, and construction/destruction.

I took lots of pictures, and think it best if I let them speak for themselves. They include:

• A Lego wall inspired by the painting Water Lilies. Unbelievably this huge long work was created from tiny single and double Lego blocks. 
• A large installation featuring a 3D vertical wood structure and a virtual sea of Lego pieces several inches deep spilling across the floor under it. 
• Two enormous, long snakes hung on the wall. One was made of backpacks and the other from life vests. These sculptures were dedicated to the victims of the refugee crisis in Europe and the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. 
• Several photographic series including one featuring images taken on Ai's return to Beijing after living in the U.S. for 12 years.

There were also four large rectangular floors installations. 

• One featured fragments of porcelain sculptures that were destroyed when his studio was demolished by the Chinese State. 
• The second was created from more than 200 antique porcelain cannonballs made during the Song dynasty. 
• The third offered layers upon layers of porcelain spouts from teapots and wine ewers crafted during the Song Dynasty. At that time any that were not perfect were broken off and thrown away. 
• The fourth featured more than 4,000 ancient tools laid out in rows, everything from axe-heads to chisels to knives to spindle wholes. The artist found them in flea markets. 

The exhibit had much more to see of course. These were just a few highlights. Unfortunately Making Sense has closed, but I found a great video that will walk you through it to enjoy!