Wei Wei sad

Wei Wei at the opening

I am officially heartbroken.  The best thing that I have seen for a long time and definitely during Frieze week, Ai Wei Wei’s poetic sunflower seed installation has been shut down forever.  Or at least the interactive and for him important part of the installation where the viewer gets to walk or I should say crunch through the million and a half hand painted sunflower seeds at the Tate Turbine Hall. 

When I arrived at the press view I went up to hug the always slightly inscrutable Wei Wei.  I said how wonderful the sound was and he said he felt it was very much part of the work, the experience of the viewer listening to both themselves and others.  Watching people scrunching through and listening to the sound gave another and important dimension to the already layered work.

I asked if the seeds were salty as they had the powdery look of the seeds, and were so realistic that you wanted to instantly pop them into your mouth, something that I think several small children probably did while they were being photographed by the ravenous press.  His response a slightly puzzled no?  I don’t think he sees how real the piece is.  Is it about sharing, hunger, the hand, making, Chinese-ness, zen gardens, beaches, feeling, listening.  All these and many more.

He himself says, ‘I only made three or four and they were no good.’  In answer to my question as to why he chose this image his response was that as every artist I make a choice as to the moment when I am making the work, and this was the choice I made at this moment.  Wei Wei has been working in this town for some time now,  a town which was famous for making porcelaine.  He admits that the work has been so successful that he has to think of another to make in this place.  He pays the workers a little more than a basic wage and they have come to depend on himself.  Another burden for this artist who carries too many already.  Thank heavens he has wide shoulders!