10 Facts About... Ai Weiwei | Factory+ | Button Up!

1. Ai Weiwei spent much of his childhood in exile in northwestern China

He was born in Beijing in 1957 during a period of political crackdowns by the new government. His father Ai Qing – one of China’s most famous poets – was exiled as part of a government campaign against intellectuals.

2. Ai Weiwei was a portrait artist on the streets of New York

In the 1980s, Ai Weiwei moved to the US where he studied in Philadelphia, California and New York. He earned money as a portrait artist, capturing groups of tourists in Greenwich Village.

3. Ai Weiwei smashed a 2000-year-old ceremonial urn… for art!

In 1995, Ai Weiwei smashed a ceremonial urn for one of his most famous photographic works, Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn. The artwork questions the values we place on cultural objects. Like much of Weiwei’s work, it is provocative. Look at the photos below – how does it make you feel?

Ai Weiwei's artwork Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn – a black and white triptych of the artist dropping an urn — Ai Weiwei. *Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn*, 1995. Courtesy of the artist.

4. Ai Weiwei helped design the colossal Bird’s Nest Stadium for the 2008 Beijing Olympics

He collaborated with Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron on the design of the stadium, which came to be seen as a symbol of China’s increasing influence on the global stage.

5. Ai Weiwei filled the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern with 100 million sunflower seeds

Except they weren’t sunflower seeds! Each ‘seed’ was individually crafted by skilled workers in the Chinese city of Jingdezhen. Sunflower Seeds can be considered a commentary on mass production and is one of Ai Weiwei’s most famous artworks.

6. Ai Weiwei is an investigator as well as an artist

Ai Weiwei moves between modes of investigating and creating art. Take his artwork Remembering (2009), which was inspired by his investigation of poor construction works following the devastating Sichuan Earthquake, or his documentary Human Flow about the plight of refugees.

7. Ai Weiwei spent 81 days in secret detention

In 2011, Ai Weiwei was secretly detained at Beijing airport by Public Security in China. For 81 days, he lived in a single cell, eating his meals, washing and exercising between interrogations – before being released without charge. You can see a recreation of the experience in the below artwork S.A.C.R.E.D.

A diorama showing Ai Weiwei in secret detention — Ai Weiwei. *S.A.C.R.E.D.* 2013.

A diorama showing Ai Weiwei in secret detention, sat in a chair with two guards interrogating him — Ai Weiwei. *S.A.C.R.E.D.* 2013.

8. Ai Weiwei broadcast his life online to five million people

After his release, Weiwei was subject to soft detention and continued surveillance. In 2013, he turned the experience into art with WeiweiCam – a live, self-surveillance broadcast, which five million people watched before the government shut it down.

9. Ai Weiwei is the owner of one of the largest collections of buttons in the world

In 2019, Ai Weiwei bought the stock of button wholesaler A Brown & Co. His new artwork Eight-Nation Alliance Flags is made from millions of these buttons!

Ai Weiwei's artwork 'Remembering' on the side of the Haus der Kunst on a sunny day. Cars are driving past it. — Ai Weiwei. *Remembering*, 2009. Courtesy of the artist.

10. Ai Weiwei creates work with toy bricks

He is drawn to everyday objects like buttons or sunflower seeds. His new version of History of Bombs – an artwork about mass destruction – is made entirely from toy bricks!

Ai Weiwei: Button Up! runs from 2 July to 6 September. Book tickets here.

Sewing a Button runs from 5pm on 3 July for 24 hours. Book tickets here.