Ai Weiwei, one of China’s leading Conceptual artists and an outspoken cultural and social commentator, has undertaken the eleventh commission in The Unilever Series.
Sunflower Seeds is made up of millions of small works, each apparently identical, but actually unique. However realistic they may seem, these life-sized sunflower seed husks are in fact intricately hand-crafted in porcelain. Each seed has been individually sculpted and painted by specialists working in small-scale workshops in the Chinese city of Jingdezhen. Far from being industrially produced, they are the effort of hundreds of skilled hands.
Poured into the interior of the Turbine Hall’s vast industrial space, the 100 million seeds form a seemingly infinite landscape. Sunflower Seeds is a sensory and immersive installation, which we can touch, walk on and listen to as the seeds shift under our feet. The casual act of walking on the work’s surface contrasts with the immense effort of production and the precious nature of the material. Porcelain is almost synonymous with China and, to make this work, Ai Weiwei has manipulated traditional methods of crafting what has historically been one of China’s most prized exports. Sunflower Seeds invites us to look more closely at the ‘Made in China’ phenomenon and the geo-politics of cultural and economic exchange today.
A vast carpet of more than 100 million porcelain "seeds" in London's Tate Modern contain traces of lead, an investigation into the exhibition discovered.
The installation was declared out of bounds to art lovers only two days after it opened because it poses a health threat due to dust.
But further analysis of the seeds and dust has shown they contain traces of the poisonous metal.
Visitors to the London gallery were initially allowed to walk on the imitation sunflower seeds - which cover 1,000 square metres of its Turbine Hall - but were banned shortly after the piece opened in October.
A Tate spokeswoman insisted that the exhibition poses "no health risk".
She said: "Tate did testing on the seeds to check their robustness before the work was installed in the Turbine Hall. Tate also undertook further testing on the dust generated by the enthusiastic interaction of the public in the first days of opening.
"We were advised following the second test, the dust could be damaging to health following prolonged exposure. The tests show that traces of lead are present in the material of the seeds and the dust that resulted from the interaction with the work by visitors.
"Specialist advice confirmed that due to the limited length of time with the work their exposure to the dust has not led to a health risk. The results showed that exposure to the dust during the period when the work could still be walked on was below the relevant Workplace Exposure Limits.
"The installation as currently seen in the Turbine Hall poses no health risk."
She added that staff involved with the project were also informed about the contents of the dust.
AI WEIWEI
ReplyDeleteThe Unilever Series 2010
12 October 2010 – 02 Mayl 2011
Ai Weiwei, one of China’s leading Conceptual artists and an outspoken cultural and social commentator, has undertaken the eleventh commission in The Unilever Series.
Sunflower Seeds is made up of millions of small works, each apparently identical, but actually unique. However realistic they may seem, these life-sized sunflower seed husks are in fact intricately hand-crafted in porcelain. Each seed has been individually sculpted and painted by specialists working in small-scale workshops in the Chinese city of Jingdezhen. Far from being industrially produced, they are the effort of hundreds of skilled hands.
Poured into the interior of the Turbine Hall’s vast industrial space, the 100 million seeds form a seemingly infinite landscape. Sunflower Seeds is a sensory and immersive installation, which we can touch, walk on and listen to as the seeds shift under our feet. The casual act of walking on the work’s surface contrasts with the immense effort of production and the precious nature of the material. Porcelain is almost synonymous with China and, to make this work, Ai Weiwei has manipulated traditional methods of crafting what has historically been one of China’s most prized exports. Sunflower Seeds invites us to look more closely at the ‘Made in China’ phenomenon and the geo-politics of cultural and economic exchange today.
www.tate.org.uk/modern
Tate exhibit contains lead traces
ReplyDeletepress release (UKPA) – 19 minutes ago......
A vast carpet of more than 100 million porcelain "seeds" in London's Tate Modern contain traces of lead, an investigation into the exhibition discovered.
The installation was declared out of bounds to art lovers only two days after it opened because it poses a health threat due to dust.
But further analysis of the seeds and dust has shown they contain traces of the poisonous metal.
Visitors to the London gallery were initially allowed to walk on the imitation sunflower seeds - which cover 1,000 square metres of its Turbine Hall - but were banned shortly after the piece opened in October.
A Tate spokeswoman insisted that the exhibition poses "no health risk".
She said: "Tate did testing on the seeds to check their robustness before the work was installed in the Turbine Hall. Tate also undertook further testing on the dust generated by the enthusiastic interaction of the public in the first days of opening.
"We were advised following the second test, the dust could be damaging to health following prolonged exposure. The tests show that traces of lead are present in the material of the seeds and the dust that resulted from the interaction with the work by visitors.
"Specialist advice confirmed that due to the limited length of time with the work their exposure to the dust has not led to a health risk. The results showed that exposure to the dust during the period when the work could still be walked on was below the relevant Workplace Exposure Limits.
"The installation as currently seen in the Turbine Hall poses no health risk."
She added that staff involved with the project were also informed about the contents of the dust.