The Ai Weiwei: Roots exhibition showcases a new series of monumental sculptural works in iron, cast from giant tree roots Ai Weiwei sourced in Brazil during research and production for last year’s survey exhibition, Raiz. Ai worked with local artisans and communities across Brazil to locate roots and trunks from the endangered Pequi Vinagreiro tree. Some of these roots could be over a thousand years old and were painstakingly moulded, conjoined and then cast to create striking compositions and bold forms that reflect their Brazilian heritage. The exhibition depicts the state of “uprootedness,” one that mirrors not only Ai’s peripatetic existence after being allowed to leave China in 2015, but also the plight of the refugees he has spent the last few years documenting, as well as the various indigenous populations that rely on the trees and forests of Brazil for their habitats and sustenance. The Roots series contrasts with floating figures, clouds, and dream-like vignettes that Ai has been producing delicate sculptures from stretched silk over bamboo armatures for the past five years. Alongside these sculptures are politically-charged, pixelated renderings of the trajectory of a refugee boat refused docking at Lampedusa after two weeks at sea, the front page of the Mueller report into Russian interference in the 2016 US Presidential election, as well as a deconstructed symbol of the contentious protests of Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Posted by hateruma_yaeyama on 2019-10-02 10:37:07