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Ai Weiwei, Kui Hua Zi (Sunflower Seeds)

By Dr. Megan Lorraine Debin

Subversive seeds

Ai Weiwei often uses his art to critique political and economic injustice. This can be seen in work such as his 2010 installation, Kui Hua Zi (Sunflower Seeds) at Tate Modern, London.
Individual seeds (detail), Ai Weiwei, Kui Hua Zi (Sunflower Seeds), 2010, one hundred million hand painted porcelain seeds (photo: Drew Bates, CC BY 2.0) © Ai Weiwei
Individual seeds (detail), Ai Weiwei, Kui Hua Zi (Sunflower Seeds), 2010, one hundred million hand painted porcelain seeds (photo: Drew Bates, CC BY 2.0) © Ai Weiwei
Kui Hua Zi (Sunflower Seeds) consists of more than 100 million tiny, handmade porcelain sunflower seeds, originally weighing in at 150 tons. They filled the enormous Turbine Hall at Tate Modern, an industrial building-turned-contemporary art space. Sunflower seeds evokes a warm personal memory for the artist, who recalls that while he was growing up, even the poorest in China would share sunflower seeds as a treat among friends. The use of sunflower seeds as the basis of his installation was also designed to subvert popular imagery rooted in the artist’s childhood. Communist propaganda optimistically depicted leader Mao Zedong as the sun and the citizens of the People’s Republic of China as sunflowers, turning toward their chairman. Ai Weiwei reasserts the sunflower seed as a symbol of camaraderie during difficult times.
Artist with installation, Ai Weiwei, Kui Hua Zi (Sunflower Seeds), 2010, one hundred million hand painted porcelain seeds (Tate Modern, London) © Ai Weiwei
Artist with installation, Ai Weiwei, Kui Hua Zi (Sunflower Seeds), 2010, one hundred million hand painted porcelain seeds (Tate Modern, London) © Ai Weiwei
Though each of the 100 million carefully crafted individual seeds can draw the viewer's attention, once arranged together in a neat rectangle, or covering the floor of an entire room, the hyper-realistic seeds create a sense of vastness. In the Tate installation, there was a sense of precision in the arrangement of the seeds, creating visual order and uniformity. The individual seed is lost among the millions, a critique of the conformity and censorship in modern China.
Ai Weiwei, Kui Hua Zi (Sunflower Seeds), 2010, one hundred million hand painted porcelain seeds (Tate Modern, London; photo: Waldopepper, CC BY-NC 2.0) © Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei, Kui Hua Zi (Sunflower Seeds), 2010, one hundred million hand painted porcelain seeds (Tate Modern, London; photo: Waldopepper, CC BY-NC 2.0) © Ai Weiwei

Made in China

More than 1,600 artisans worked to make the individual porcelain seeds by hand in Jingdezhen, the city known as the “Porcelain Capital,” where artists have been producing pottery for nearly 2,000 years. Porcelain, first produced during the Han dynasty in about 200 B.C.E. and later mastered during the Tang dynasty, is made by heating white clay (kaolin) to a temperature over 1200 degrees Celsius. The fusion of the particles within the clay during firing allowed artists to create vessels with thin but strong walls. Porcelain— a symbol of imperial culture in China—was also made for export via the
 and became important to the creation of the idea of China in the
.
Some of the 1,600 highly skilled craftspeople from Jingdezhen hired to create and paint porcelain sunflower seeds
Some of the 1,600 highly skilled craftspeople from Jingdezhen hired to create and paint porcelain sunflower seeds
Ai Weiwei’s use of porcelain comments on the long history of this prized material while also rejecting the negative connotations that the term "Made in China" has to some audiences. Utilizing skilled artisans known for their exquisite craftsmanship to make objects that can only be differentiated one from another upon close inspection alludes to the important porcelain tradition in Jingdezhen, as well as to the uniformity and diffusion of
(cheap and fast) labor that is responsible for China’s hard-won place in the world economy. Sunflower Seeds asks us to examine how our consumption of foreign-made goods affects the lives of others across the globe.
Visitors interacting with the installation, Ai Weiwei, Kui Hua Zi (Sunflower Seeds), 2010, one hundred million hand-painted porcelain seeds (Tate Modern, London; photo: Loz Flowers, CC BY-SA 2.0) © Ai Weiwei
Visitors interacting with the installation, Ai Weiwei, Kui Hua Zi (Sunflower Seeds), 2010, one hundred million hand-painted porcelain seeds (Tate Modern, London; photo: Loz Flowers, CC BY-SA 2.0) © Ai Weiwei
How we experience an artwork impacts our perception of the work. In the tradition of
Sunflower Seeds asks the public to physically interact with the art. Initially, Tate visitors were invited to walk over and lie on the seeds, though the museum, in consultation with the artist, suspended this opportunity about a week into the exhibition because of safety concerns.

Art and activism

Ai Weiwei was arrested at the Beijing Capital International Airport on April 3, 2011 during his Tate exhibition. [1] He was detained for 81 days. The artist, along with many in the international community, asserted that his true offense was his political activism for democracy and human rights. Ai Weiwei had blogged for four years—investigating cover-ups and corruption in the government’s handling of a devastating 2008 earthquake in Sichuan and the country’s hosting of the Olympics. Ai Weiwei's blog was shut down in 2009. Since then, he has turned to Twitter and Instagram. During his detention, the international community, including major U.S. art institutions, rallied for his release. Officials eventually released him, charging Ai Weiwei with tax evasion, but his passport was withheld, preventing him from leaving the country for four years. It was returned in 2015.
Installation view from @Large, Ai Weiwei, Trace, 2014, LEGO ® bricks (New Industries Building, Alcatraz Island; photo: sandwich, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) © Ai Weiwei
Installation view from @Large, Ai Weiwei, Trace, 2014, LEGO ® bricks (New Industries Building, Alcatraz Island; photo: sandwich, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) © Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei’s continues to address issues of human rights in his work. The 2015 exhibit @Large, installed on Alcatraz, the former island prison in the San Francisco Bay, comments on surveillance, freedom, and political prisoners by mixing fine and traditional arts with pop culture materials including silk dragon kites and LEGO ® portraits.
Notes:
[1] Andrew Jacobs, "China Takes Dissident Artist Into Custody," The New York Times, April 3, 2011.

Essay by Dr. Megan Lorraine Debin

Want to join the conversation?

  • blobby green style avatar for user gustavonarez
    What was the safety concern on lying on the sunflower seeds?
    (9 votes)
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    • marcimus pink style avatar for user Melissa
      Because the Tate had so many visitors who were allowed to walk directly on the seeds, porcelain dust had gathered and filled the air. Porcelain dust is very harmful for the lungs and can even cause lung cancer. Because of this they had to stop visitors from walking directly on and instead let them walk around them.
      (18 votes)
  • blobby green style avatar for user andrew videla
    are sunflower is good to eat sunflower
    (4 votes)
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  • leaf orange style avatar for user Jeff Kelman
    What sort of materials other than porcelain were used in the production of these seeds? What paints were used is primarily my question (safe to touch and hold?)?
    (2 votes)
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    • marcimus pink style avatar for user Melissa
      All the websites I've currently looked at have all said just what Olivia has said. If you'd like more detail I'd have to guess calligraphy ink. I watched a documentary on the process and from the looks of it, that's what it is. Now calligraphy ink can be toxic depending on the type and quality but Im almost positive that the ink used on the sunflower seeds is safe to touch. Ai Wei Wei even said during one of his visits to his exhibit that visitors even tried putting the seeds into their mouths, so yes, it must have been safe. Also mining, machines, and process is all shown is this YouTube documentary.
      https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PueYywpkJW8
      (2 votes)
  • blobby green style avatar for user Khojasta Harari
    Activist and visual artist Ai Weiwei is known for his use of repetition and multiplicity. In his piece Sunflower Seeds, Ai created over 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds, which were then spread out in a huge installation to explore ideas of conformity and individuality. In Forever Bicycles, Ai constructed a giant sculpture from over 1,200 bicycles to recognize the importance of the bicycle in Chinese society. In both cases, the repetition of a single element creates a whole that’s more impactful than its unremarkable constituents.
    Which choice best states the text’s main idea about Ai Weiwei?
    Choose 1 answer:
    Choose 1 answer:
    (Choice A) He uses the repetition of similar objects to create more significant works of art.
    A
    He uses the repetition of similar objects to create more significant works of art.
    (Choice B) He creates installation art in order to explore aspects of Chinese society and culture.
    B
    He creates installation art in order to explore aspects of Chinese society and culture.
    (Choice C) His most successful art installations include Sunflower Seeds and Forever Bicycles.
    C
    His most successful art installations include Sunflower Seeds and Forever Bicycles.
    (Choice D) He is known for creating large scale installations that are visually impressive.
    D
    He is known for creating large scale installations that are visually impressive.
    (1 vote)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user ta.hadley
    The link to I Weiwei from art21 is incorrect. It does lead to art 21, but links to another show.
    (1 vote)
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  • duskpin tree style avatar for user katherine
    do you wash them after you walk on them
    ,and porcelain dust is harmful to the lungs if keep walking on them it fills the air and could kill someone
    (0 votes)
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