Drifting on a Small Boat
In recent years, the Chinese government’s attempts to keep controversy and corruption quiet have become widely known. Today, the world is familiar with and in awe of China’s secrecy and attempts to conceal anything controversial about the Communist government under wraps.
Any criticism of the Chinese government or its officials from newspapers articles, T.V. newscasts or other major news sources are often taken down from the internet and quieted before the public could hear the critique.
Furthermore, despite China’s growing economy, we can see the regression of government support in China from those who wish to see the nation flourish once again.
Breaking through the barriers, Chinese activists and artists have attempted to expose what China has become, to show the world the brutal, unseen truth that hides beneath lies and secrecy. One of these righteous artists, named Ai Weiwei (pronounced I Way-Way), has already shaken Chinese society using his artistic talent.
With the help of social networking, even though usage is incredibly restricted in China, and his combined with attitude, artist and activist Weiwei creates art pieces that can anger and compel the viewer.
Because of his controversial work, Weiwei is attracting an audience beyond Chinese borders.
China is finally being seen for what it has become on a world wide stage.
Child in Exile
According to The Smithsonian, Weiwei is seen as China’s most dangerous man. Weiwei is all too familiar with controversy and struggles, for he was raised as a child in exile with the rest of his family.
When Weiwei was a young child, his family was forced into exile in remote corners of the country because his father, Ai Qing, wrote controversial poetry criticizing the Chinese communist government and its officials during the 1930’s.
In Qing’s allegorical poems, “The Yellow Bird” and “Dream of the Garden,” he criticizes the Maoist government’s suppression of culture.
The Nationalist government imprisoned Qing for his participation in a Marxist study group, leading to the family’s exile. His works were banned from schools and universities across China.
In a letter to his brother 32 years ago, Weiwei wrote of difficult times when his family was shunned and shamed. The constant unforgiving attitude towards his family is the root of his deep hatred for the corrupt Chinese government. In 1975, however, Weiwei’s family returned to Beijing.
For most of his childhood, his family struggled and never experienced the true feeling of peace. Weiwei, in an interview with the Global Post, describes his childhood as “drifting on a small boat.”
“We drifted on a small boat for 20 years,” Weiwei said. “If I say the past time left me with some memorable things, it has no mystical and magnificent sky, no beautiful and moving fairy tales no endless warmth of home, no colorful flower, no graceful music.”
Liberating the Voiceless
Mainly known for his work designing the Bird’s Nest at the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics and creating other controversial art pieces (“Sunflower Seeds,” “The Study of Perspective,” “Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn,” and others), Weiwei’s art has drawn a multitude of attention because of his mockery of communism and the Chinese government.
Unfortunately, this self-inflicted controversy has landed Weiwei into some trouble. He was assaulted by police outside the Chengdu police station while attempting to file a complaint about a previous attack, resulting in his hospitalization. Furthermore, Weiwei spoke out against the government’s handling of the Sichuan earthquake in 2008. He protested, asking for the government to discuss the 5,335 children whose deaths could have been prevented if buildings were constructed better. Because of these efforts, the Chinese government has promised to make improvements in construction safety legislation.
According to The Telegraph, Weiwei has been missing since April 3rd, when he was detained at the Beijing airport while trying to board a plane to Hong Kong, leaving behind his son and wife, fellow artist, Lu Qing. He was arrested for unspecified “economic crimes.”
Though the reason for his absence is still unknown, Weiwei has been continually gaining support and prompting public discussion about the Chinese government.
"Sunflower Seeds"
Located in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in London and covering 1,000 square meters of ground, Weiwei’s installation “Sunflower Seeds” (2010) only appears to be a sea of grey. But each porcelain sunflower seed is actually handcrafted and delicately painted with a small brush in the rural, Chinese town of Jingdezhen.
The 100 million sunflower seeds represent the growth of materialism, globalization and mass-production in China; issues that question the creation of meaningless products for distant, demanding markets.
Not only do the seeds represent modern issues, but they are also symbols of the Cultural Revolution where Mao was characterized as the sun and the sunflower seeds as the Chinese people.
In this installation, people are allowed to do whatever they would like to the seeds: walk, jump and touch. Walking upon the seeds embodies the fact that the Chinese people, during the Cultural Revolution, were manipulated into doing whatever Mao dictated.
Though the installation is no longer being held in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, it is traveling around the world, always attracting a huge audience with a compelling message that all can understand.
