Translating a defiant self-portrait
In the short film below, Weiwei tells the story behind a photograph of the artist, taken after he endured police brutality, which the limited edition embroideries reinterpret.Time-limited edition
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Ai Weiwei transforms a defiant self-portrait into a new limited edition embroidery.
In 2011, following 81 days in detention with Chinese authorities, Weiwei and his team secretly created toy brick portraits of global political prisoners for a major show at the decommissioned Alcatraz prison in San Francisco. Due to his passport being confiscated, Weiwei was unable to attend the exhibition, uniting him in solidarity with his subjects.
This pixelated embroidery translates a self-portrait of Weiwei with a shaved head and scar – the result of police brutality following his investigation into the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, which caused the artist to haemorrhage. It forms a powerful statement of persistence and solidarity, reflecting Weiwei’s unwavering belief that “it is your duty as an artist to fight and to protect freedom of speech.”
This limited edition textile piece features approximately 460,000 stitches, embroidered in 5 colours on 230gsm cotton and mounted in a bespoke frame, meticulously crafted to translate the pixelated texture and bold presence of the original toy brick work.
Ai Weiwei27 collaborationsAi 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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