Sunflower Seeds is a powerful work that addresses themes of mass production, individuality, and Chinese culture. The sheer scale of the installation and the labor-intensive process of creating each individual seed highlight the tension between the individual and the collective. The work also has political undertones, referencing the Cultural Revolution in China.
Born: August 28, 1957, Beijing, China
Nationality: Chinese
Style: Installation Art, Conceptual Art, Activism
Influences: Marcel Duchamp, Chinese history, human rights
Major Exhibitions: "Sunflower Seeds" (2010), "Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn" (1995), "@Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz" (2014)
Quote: "Everything is art. Everything is politics."
This installation at Tate Modern's Turbine Hall consisted of millions of handcrafted porcelain sunflower seeds, spread across the floor of the vast space. Visitors were initially allowed to walk on and interact with the seeds.
