12 Artistic Ai Weiwei Finds

These Ai Weiwei Finds celebrate the work of the Chinese contemporary artist and activist Ai Weiwei. Known for creating work that opposes and criticizes oppression, Weiwei has often found himself clashing with the Chinese government, yet his work has become some of the most significant of the past decade.

Ai Weiwei creates powerful pieces with strong messages such as his slithering knapsack sculptures that pay tribute to the children who died during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake due to the poor building code, to his moving bicycle sculptures meant to symbolize the constant motion in the Chinese social environment. Yet, Ai Weiwei also has a humorous side as seen by his bird-flipping frames that are not only hilarious, but because they are free, give his fans a chance to carry a piece of his art with them everywhere.

Ai Weiwei is a radical artist who is continually pushing the boundaries to expose what is wrong with society. Yet, his work has the power to inspire, as we see with the deceivingly dead artist's installation created by He Xiangyu. The installation used a dead-looking sculpture of Ai Weiwei as a way to pay tribute to the Weiwei's lifetime work as an artist and activist. Clearly, these Ai Weiwei Finds show how is work is speaking for and to generations of people.