The Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has a new exhibition at Taipei’s Fine Arts Museum that opened yesterday which features a giant installation made of 1,000 bicycles piled in layers. The work is meant to reflect Ai’s perception about the rapid pace of Chinese social change.
The artist is currently confined to Beijing so the Taipei Fine Arts Museum had daily email exchanges with the artist to get instructions on how to mount and setup the show. The Chinese government says his previous two-month detainment was for tax evasion charges though many believe it was for his openly critical stance against their policies.
The show, entitled “Ai Weiwei, Absent, “ also features will feature 21 works includes photographs, 12 outsize bronze heads representing the Chinese zodiac, and the bicycle installation.
Through his work Ai addresses issues pertinent to contemporary China; including the loss of historic material culture due to rapid modernization and the effects of the global economy on traditional modes of production. His work also investigates broader themes, including perceptions of value, mass production and brand globalization, such as Coca Cola.
The exhibition runs from October 29, 2011 to January 29, 2012.
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