Ai Weiwei's 'Making Sense' at London Design Museum
Ai Weiwei's significant solo exhibition in the UK, his first since the 2014 retrospective at the Royal Academy, has commenced at the Design Museum in London, where it will be on display until 30 July. Entitled 'Making Sense,' the exhibition showcases five categories of items: Stone Age arrowheads, public Lego bricks, 200,000 ceramic cannonballs from the Song dynasty, severed teapot spouts, and blue-and-white porcelain fragments from Ai's demolished studio in Beijing. Featured wall exhibits include 'Beijing Photographs' (1993–2003), 'Provisional Landscapes' (2002–08), and 'National Stadium' (2005–07). Additionally, the collection contains steel rebar and children's backpacks from the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. The themes explored include authenticity, appropriation, and political control, drawing on Lothar Ledderose's 'Ten Thousand Things' and the Terracotta Army. Ai's return to Beijing was hindered by Chinese authorities holding his passport.
Key facts
- Ai Weiwei's first major UK solo exhibition since 2014 Royal Academy retrospective
- Exhibition titled 'Making Sense' at Design Museum, London, through 30 July
- Five fields of objects: Stone Age arrowheads, Lego bricks, Song dynasty cannonballs, teapot spouts, porcelain shards
- Lego bricks donated by public after Lego refused supply for political works
- Porcelain shards from artwork destroyed when Beijing studio razed by Chinese authorities in 2018
- Photographic series include 'Beijing Photographs' (1993–2003), 'Provisional Landscapes' (2002–08), 'National Stadium' (2005–07)
- National Stadium designed with Herzog & de Meuron for 2008 Beijing Olympics
- Steel rebar and children's backpacks from 2008 Sichuan earthquake schools
- References Lothar Ledderose's 'Ten Thousand Things' and Terracotta Army
- Ai's passport held after arrest; unable to return to Beijing
Entities
Artists
- Ai Weiwei
- Lothar Ledderose
- Jacques Rancière
- Qin Shi Huang
- Herzog & de Meuron
Institutions
- Design Museum
- Royal Academy
- Herzog & de Meuron
- Lego
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Beijing
- China
- Sichuan