WATCH: Eight-Nation Alliance Flags

How did a tweet, Manchester's industrial history, and 30 tons of buttons lead to Ai Weiwei creating a new series of artworks?

In 2019, Ai Weiwei purchased a huge number of buttons from a wholesaler in Croydon, who were closing down after 104 years of trading by responding to their tweet.

A few years later, visiting Manchester to research his new exhibition, he found his purpose for them.

Inspired by Manchester's industrial history as the workshop of the world, Ai Weiwei has transformed the buttons into large-scale flags, each made from hundreds of thousands of painstakingly handsewn buttons.

These artworks reference the textile factories that made Manchester rich and the 1900 to 1901 invasion of China by the Eight-Nation Alliance – Britain, France, the United States, Germany, Japan, Russia, Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire – aimed at opening trade ports.

The flags will form part of Button Up, a major exhibition of Ai Weiwei's most powerful works.

To find out more, head to our website and check out Factory+