Ai Weiwei: Artist Statement for “Megacities Asia”

Ai Weiwei (born 1957, Beijing)

Two iconic sculptures by Ai Weiwei—whose art is featured at the MFA for the first time in “Megacities Asia”—respond to rapid urbanization in Beijing. When Ai was growing up, China’s poor families aspired to own Forever brand bicycles as means of both transportation and socioeconomic mobility. After spending a decade in New York, the artist returned to a radically changed Beijing in 1993, where the bicycle had faded into the past, giving way to cars. “Forever” (2003) is a circular arrangement of 64 Forever bicycles. With no beginning and no end, the sculpture questions whether something eternal can exist in a quickly changing society.

In addition to transportation, the constantly moving landscapes of Chinese cities are also shaped by ongoing construction—and the fast-paced race toward progress has been blamed for many crumbling and collapsing buildings across the nation. Ai’s “Snake Ceiling” (2009) connects nearly 350 backpacks to commemorate the lives of more than 5,000 children who died in 2008 when their poorly constructed school buildings collapsed during a major earthquake in China’s Sichuan province. The twisting, serpentine form of the piece, mounted to the ceiling is meant to evoke a stream of children walking to school, hand in hand.

“Megacities Asia” is the largest contemporary exhibition ever organized at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA). On view through July 17, 2016. #mfaMEGA