‘Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads’ and other works by Ai Weiwei

One of China’s most prolific and provocative contemporary artists, Ai Weiwei is known for such major projects as the installation ‘Fairytale’ at Documenta 12 in 2007, as well as for his embrace of the Internet and social media as active platforms for commentary and art forms in their own right.

The Hirshhorn presents ‘Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads’, a monumental 12-part sculptural suite by Ai Weiwei. Installed around the perimeter of the fountain on the museum’s plaza, it is on view until February 2013. The historically resonant piece paves the way for ‘Ai Weiwei: According to What?’ the first U.S. retrospective of the artist’s work, which opens at the venue in October.

His ‘Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads’ comprises a dozen bronze sculptures, each roughly 10 feet tall, that represent the signs of the Chinese zodiac: 11 real-world animals (snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog, pig, rat, ox, tiger and rabbit) and one mythical creature (dragon). The sculptures are re-envisioned and enlarged versions of the original 18th-century heads designed during the Qing dynasty for the fountain clock of the Yuanming Yuan (Garden of Perfect Brightness), an imperial retreat outside Beijing.

By sending the entire suite of sculptures on a world tour that has already reached São Paulo, New York, London, Los Angeles, Taipei and Houston, Ai reexamines the fraught history of the originals. “My work is always dealing with real or fake authenticity, and what’s the value and how the value relates to current political and social understandings and misunderstandings,” said Ai. “I think [there’s] a strong humorous aspect there. So I wanted to make a complete set [of zodiac heads], including the seven original and the missing five.”

Ai sees his usage of the zodiac heads as a link in a longer historical chain, observing that the Qing dynasty heads were themselves based on Tang dynasty renderings. At the same time, he notes the ability of the subject to transcend any historical context. To viewers coming unawares upon the zodiac heads, “They’re just animals.”

In conjunction with the Hirshhorn’s presentations of Ai’s work, the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery presents ‘Perspectives: Ai Weiwei’ from May 12 to April 7, 2013, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art will exhibit ‘Untitled’, from September 22 to January 13, 2013.

(Information courtesy: Smithsonian)