PERHAPS one of the most prolific Chinese artists (and most critical of its government) Ai Wei Wei has just made his mid-western debut in new exhibition Bare Life, a show in two parts with work spanning 20 years of political friction, human rights policy and an extraordinary life as a dissident artist. Conflict with the law has often lain alongside Wei’s life – his first experience being exiled was in the first year of his life – his clashes with the Chinese government are only outnumbered by his artworks critiquing it to an international audience. This is reflected in the two sections of the showcase that asks viewers to look at his body of work in a fresh way; the first dealing with China’s strained relationship with its people and their human rights and the latter it’s complex ancient history.
Ai Weiwei: Bare Life, installation view, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, 2019.
Photo: Joshua White /JWPictures.com
It’s difficult to ascertain which of Wei’s works was intended as the exhibition’s centrepiece, but his seminal Forever Bicycles has a terrific presence amongst the venue’s 35 pieces on display. Constructed of 720 stainless-steel bicycles, the piece stretches diagonally across the first half of the exhibit, inviting visitors to walk directly through it to be confronted directly with an iconic symbol of China.
Ai Weiwei: Bare Life, installation view, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, 2019.
Photo: Joshua White /JWPictures.com
Speaking on Wei’s exhibition, it’s co-curator Sabine Eckmann had this to say: “Over the last decade the Kemper Art Museum has explored the interconnections between art, especially conceptual art, and politics. Continuing in this trajectory, Bare Life is focused on Ai’s creation of images that reconfigure the past in the present, employ a radical form of realism for political critique and elevate into the realm of visibility those whose humanity has been ignored.”
Ai Weiwei: Bare Life, installation view, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, 2019.
Photo: Joshua White /JWPictures.com
This reimagining of the past in a contemporary climate rings true when approaching the second half of Wei’s exhibition, Rupture; seeking to address China’s complicated relationship with its past and ancient history alongside his development as an artist. Including a triptych of Wei dropping and destroying a priceless Han Dynasty Urn and reassembled rubble from Wei’s similarly demolished old artist’s studio, the room is filled with ancient artefacts but is also dripping with Wei’s unmistakable contemporary satire.
by Hannah Crosbie
Bare Life by Ai Wei Wei will run until January 5, 2020 at the Kemper Art Museum, Washington University.
Cover Image: Ai Weiwei: Bare Life, installation view, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, 2019. Photo: Joshua White /JWPictures.com