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.

Go deeper

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

It’s gorgeous. it was packed beautifully. i love it.
Review of The Cowgirl
very happy with my purchase
Review of Content (Hand-finished)
So happy to have the print.
Review of Actual Size
first class experience from start to finish. really impressed with the work and with the Avant Arte process. 💯
Review of Guardian
appart from a incredible opportunity to own and enjoy an Ai Weiwei the packaging was exemplary. i have worked pretty much my whole life in the art and museum sector and this impressed me very much, well sone you guys 👍🏻
Review of Guardian
I was lucky enough to have been invited to see the creation of this piece of work back in June and met the fantastic Miwa so seeing this print now is just fantastic. The colours are every bit as vibrant as the original.
Review of Sacred Connectedness
awesome experience all around, kudos to you all!
Review of Sierra
Great service and communication
Review of Actual Size

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