Ai Weiwei: So Sorry
Ai Weiwei, essay by Mark Siemons
Prestel
With the rise of Chinese art over the past decade, shifting economies and policies, Ai Weiwei鈥檚 work has never been more important or relevant. Born in Beijing in 1957, and the son of an outspoken Chinese poet and regime critic, Ai Qing, he grew up in a labour camp in the remote Xinjiang Province during his father鈥檚 20-year exile.
Ai Weiwei is one of China鈥檚 most controversial contemporary artists, as well as being a critic of the Chinese government. In one instance, his activism and art has even led him to suffer violence at the hands of China鈥檚 secret police.
Ai Weiwei: So Sorry documents the artist鈥檚 solo exhibition at Munich鈥檚 Haus der Kunst. The collection is complete with images from his acclaimed project, Fairytale at the 2007 Documenta 12 exhibition in Kassel, Germany. Also featured are images from the installation, Descending Light, which is a enormous chandelier made of 60,000 red beads that appears to have crashed to the ground. This book offers readers the chance to dive into the world of Ai Weiwei and his conceptual offerings that ultimately question modernity.
Shirley Stevenson