Art History - Installation
‘How does this artwork convince you that this practice is the most effective means of communicating the artists message?’
Sunflower Seeds - Ai Weiwei (2010)
‘Sunflower Seeds’ is an art installation created by artist and activist Ai Weiwei, the installation consists of thousands of porcelain sunflower seeds, all handmade each by more than 1600 workers. The mass of sunflower seeds were initially scattered and exhibited in a vast space within the Tate Modern Art Gallery, intended to be walked upon and interacted with by the public. However, the seeds were soon moved into a pile and displayed in a more secluded area due to the amount of hazardous dust kicked up from the seeds by movement. Porcelain is a well known traditional ceramic material in China, and working with it is a meticulous form of practice that dates back many years; Weiwei turns traditional Chinese art into something more contemporary; something that reflects change within the current modern world.
The process of the art installation took many days, with workers labouring away within their own designated positions; these positions included:
-Collecting the material for the seeds within mines.
-Shaping the material in specialised moulds.
-Painting the seeds with a specialised dye.
-Firing the seeds with high temperatures.
-Washing and cleaning the seeds.
-Finely picking through any damaged seeds.
-Boxing the seeds in batches for transport to the Tate Gallery.
This meticulous process Weiwei put the specialist workers through could possibly highlight the dying art of unique, traditional crafts which have been dominated by mass-production within China. Mass-production can be seen as favouring quantity over quality, using little skill and cheap labour, whilst unique, hand-made items favours the latter, with consideration and care taken into the making of such products. Weiwei might highlight this mass-producing domination within the contemporary world by intending people to step upon the seeds, destroying hours of work, suggesting the deterioration of tradition and the uprise of a power-hungry, careless economy.
Sunflowers are relevant in politics also, with leaders of such political events being symbolised as the ‘sun’ and everyday people portraying the ‘sunflowers’. It highlights the idea that although one person may seem insignificant, thousands can unite and create a bigger force of power, especially within revolutions. Weiwei could also possibly play on this political interpretation, creating the idea that individual identities are just as important within a population of many; that each person is unique and different despite being of the same kind.
Weiwei also strips the purpose of the sunflower seeds as they are physically unable to take root and grow, and are instead destroyed, this could suggest the mistreatment of people within China and how their chance to follow their ‘sun’ (destiny) is destroyed similarly to the seeds, with workers left redundant and bankrupt within the damaging economy.
In conclusion, this artwork convinces me that this practice is the most effective means of communicating the artists’ message greatly. Many interpretations can be applied from this form of installation; this contrast of many hours of labour and the intention for the act of destruction and carelessness leaves much to be reflected upon, especially from activism standpoint.
1: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/unilever-series/unilever-series-ai-weiwei-sunflower-seeds Ai Weiwei, 2010, [accessed November 2020]
2: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/ai-sunflower-seeds-t13408 Ai Weiwei, 2010, [accessed November 2020]
