7.25 – 11.8
Mori Art Museum (Roppongi)
‘Forever’ Bicycles, 2003
42 bicycles H275 x D450 cm
©FAKE Studio
Contemporary Chinese art giant Ai Weiwei’s first major solo show in Japan, According to What? features 26 works made since the 1990s, including six created specially for this exhibition. Among these are Tea House, an installation composed of 432 blocks of compressed Chinese tea stacked in the form of a house standing on a field of tea leaves. The diverse works ranging from sculptures and photographs to video and site-specific installations are organized into three sections: ‘Fundamental Forms and Volumes’, ‘Structure and Craftsmanship’ and ‘Reforming and Inheriting Tradition’. Together with a special ‘archival’ room, the exhibition provides insights into the breadth and depth of Ai Weiwei’s interdisciplinary practice that extends to architectural and political activities, as well as the cultural, historical, and societal contexts from which it emerges.
Mori Art Museum
http://www.mori.art.museum/contents/aiweiwei/
ART iT Interview: Ai Weiwei: part 1
ART iT Archive: Issue 21 – Interview with Ai Weiwei (registered users only)