Ai Weiwei Sunflower Seeds installation view via Mary Boone Gallery Chinese artist and human rights activist Ai Weiwei’s Sunflower Seeds installation is now in view at Mary Boone gallery in Chelsea. It is an abbreviated version of the popular installation that debuted in October 2010 at the Turbine Hall in London’s Tate Modern. Five tons, or 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds, hand-painted by artisans in the porcelain-producing city of Jingdezhen, China turned the space into a vast gray sea. Unfortunately it was discovered that walking and playing in the seeds, as was originally allowed and intended, churned up a toxic ceramic and lead dust. Visitors were confined to viewing from a distance, as is now the case at Mary Boone, where 3% of those seeds are on display. Indeed it is a tall task to resist touching the seeds so perfectly arranged into a rectangular rug-like surface, delicately stacked a few inches thick, covering almost the entire floor of the bright wood-beamed gallery.
Weiwei was a young man during the Cultural Revolution in China, when government propaganda depicted Chairman Mao as the sun and his minions as sunflowers leaning lovingly toward him. During this time of poverty and uncertainty, sunflower seeds were a key food source and sharing them was a common gesture of kindness and compassion. Sunflower Seeds is an excellent introduction to the political, poetic, grand yet delicate work of Ai Weiwei.
2011 has been Weiwei’s year, for better or worse. For 81 days in the spring he was detained by Chinese government officials in Beijing amid a broad government crackdown against the Arab Spring-inspired pro-democracy movement, of which Weiwei has emerged the unspoken leader. His detention sparked outrage and action around the world among the human rights and art communities alike. This summer his highly anticipated exhibit Zodiac Heads opened in Manhattan’s Grand Army Plaza. At year’s end, Time named him one of four runners-up for "Person of the Year." Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is the recently completed documentary debuting at the Sundance Film Festival next week.
Sunflower Seeds is now at Mary Boone Gallery in Chelsea through February 4th.
