00:18

square yellow and white print on a mirrored substrate

Ai Weiwei

Human Flow

€1,250

Edition of 100

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Human Flow belongs to a trio of artworks by Ai Weiwei which combine innovative printing methods with pillars of freedom upheld throughout his practice.

Figures in motion, laden with bags, move in an endless circle at the centre of the print. Razor wire surrounds them. CCTV cameras look on ominously. Ai reflects on the importance of a person’s liberty to move, and the forms of persecution that may lead them to do so. Opaque layers of white and yellow ink are applied to a mirrored aluminium substrate – subsuming onlooker and artwork in the reflective surface.

“If there is one refugee, we are all refugees. It's not that you're potentially a refugee, or potentially involved. We are involved. We are refugees. This idea is not easy to establish, so I tried to make it beautiful. You can see the image, but you can also see yourself in the reflection.”

Go behind the scenes at Make-Ready in London as Ai reflects on the profundities of printmaking, and its lineage within his practice.

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06:12

Behind the scenes

Ai Weiwei

18 collaborations

Ai Weiwei is unafraid to speak truth to power. He’s one of the most famous living artists today – a testament to the breadth and vision of his practice. Effortlessly, he moves between different media, from sculpture and architecture to performance and documentary film. His work is often monumental in scale and is driven by a hunger for truth and justice. In 2008, for example, Ai spent many months collecting the names of over 5000 children who lost their lives in the Sichuan earthquake. This unflinching dedication to human rights saw him detained by the Chinese government for 81 days in 2011, accused of ‘subverting the state.’

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Reviews from Avant collectors

the packaging was amazing.
Review of Actual Size
Great experience. I appreciate the great care with which the piece was packaged and shipped as well.
Review of Actual Size
were happy to have the print and are grateful for the professional correspondence. we look fwd to purchasing prints in the future.
Review of Prismatic Head Composition
Great service delivering to Australia, thrilled with the artwork. look forward to hanging it once our renovation is finished.
Review of Diamond Vibration (Caught by the fuzz)
love the quality and care put into the work. love it and cant wait to hang it at home.
Review of Sierra
Love the piece I got and the communication about its timing was excellent.
Review of Interior: Red Couch and Landscape
very pleased with art, frame and customer service
Review of Combat fear with truth
Great service overall, makes an easy process for buying and shipping art which is typically difficult and expensive.
Review of Guardian

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