AI WEIWEI

Yu Yi

Bamboo, LED bulbs

155 x 1200 x 400 cm

Executed in 2015

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Ai Weiwei (born 1957) is one of the most famous artists to emerge from modern-day China. As an activist, he uses his art and film work to draw attention to human rights violations and raise awareness of social, cultural and political issues in his native country and beyond.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Yu Yi links China of the past with China of today – two estranged cultures since the mass- industrialisation of the country over the last decades. The shape of the figure is inspired by the ceremonial burial suits in which royal members in Han dynasty China (206 BCE – 220 CE) were buried. Made of woven bamboo, its material is associated with virtue and viewed as a symbol of traditional Chinese values. For Yu Yi, Ai weaves the bamboo using ancient kite-making techniques, a nod to the figure seemingly ‘flying’. The title is Mandarin for the ancient burial suit, but can also denote the ‘desire to see with fresh eyes,’ to feel things

as powerfully as you did when younger – before expectations, before memory, before words. Ai seems to reference traditional ancient China as a time of innocence and purity. Ai also links the history of his country to its contemporary state. Colossal and soaring face-down above the viewer, Yu Yi could be seen as a superhero, alluding to modern- day China’s status as an economic and industrial superpower, physically and metaphorically built from the country’s tradition and history.