On Tuesday 4 August, a MAMC Night was held at the “Ai Weiwei: According to What?” exhibition. The night's program included a gallery tour by Kataoka Mami, museum chief curator and curator of this exhibition, as well as a special screening of “BIRD'S NEST - Herzog & de Meuron,” a documentary film that followed the construction of the Beijing National Stadium, looking at the work of the architects and also at the role of Ai Weiwei, who was a general advisor for the project.

< Gallery Tour >
Throughout the tour, Mami shared with us not only descriptions of the artworks, but also a number of episodes from her own experience in closely interacting with the artist.

Once you step into the exhibition, you first encounter artworks that combine basic mathematical units, such as “cubic meter” and “ton,” with Chinese traditional culture. Due to their simplicity, these artworks draw the audience's attention to the “nature of the object” itself.

Cubic Meter Tables 2009

Cubic Meter Tables 2009 Photo: Watanabe Osamu

Looking up, visitors next find a giant snake creeping along the ceiling. This “Snake Ceiling,” which is made up of about a thousand student backpacks, is a requiem for the souls of the children who died in the 12 May, 2008 Sichuan Earthquake.

Snake Ceiling 2009

Detail of Snake Ceiling 2009 Photo: Watanabe Osamu

These are three-meter-tall chests made from Chinese huali wood. The name of the artwork, “Moon Chest,” derives from the beautiful scenery that emerges inside the holes when viewers peer into them. What you see are the phases of the moon created by the carefully calculated placement of each hole. The artwork shows how an object can lose its original function and gain new value as art.

Moon Chest 2009

Detail of Moon Chest 2009 Photo: Watanabe Osamu

These interconnected bicycles are titled “Forever,” from the name of the Chinese bicycle brand. The “Forever” bicycle was once a status symbol for the Chinese people, just like luxury cars are today. But now the value of these bicycles has changed, as China has shifted towards becoming a car-oriented society.

“Forever” 2009

“Forever” 2009 Photo: Watanabe Osamu

This artwork, “Fragments,” forms a map of China when viewed from above, and it employs pieces of old temples, which were left over from some of the artist's other works. Surprisingly, no layout drawings accompanied this huge piece when it arrived in Tokyo, so the craftsmen had to assemble it from memory.

Fragments 2009

Fragments 2009 Photo: Watanabe Osamu

The gallery tour ended with “Fairytale - Chairs,” consisting of 120 Chinese chairs from the Qing dynasty. These chairs are a portion of the 1001 chairs that Ai used in his Documenta 12 project, for which he invited 1001 Chinese citizens to Kassel, in 2007.

Those same chairs then served as seats for viewing the film “BIRD'S NEST.” The film reveals the process by which the two Swiss architects, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, accomplished the construction of the massive national stadium in China only after overcoming many cultural differences. The film also looks at the role of Ai Weiwei, who was a general advisor for the project, and he makes some surprising remarks at the film's end. Although, having just seen the exhibition and come to understand Ai's philosophy and thoughts, his comments are perhaps not that surprising after all.

Screening of the film “BIRD’S NEST”

There is of course much more to know about Ai Weiwei than can be covered in a three-hour-event. He is a person of many faces - a fact that tends to leave one with many questions. As Mami commented, to conclude her gallery tour: “We encourage you to further explore the world of Ai Weiwei and always keep these questions in your mind: ‘Who is this man? What is he thinking? And where is he heading to?’”

Text: Erikawa Fumie
Coordinator
MAMC, Mori Art Museum Membership Program