Ai Wei Wei Exhibition at the AGO

It has been years since I last stepped into the Art Gallery of Ontario, so when my friend invites me to see the exhibition of Ai wei Wei: According to What? (August 17-October 27, 2013) on rainy Saturday, I agreed. My attendance was not so much about the exhibition itself but to see the newly renovated building of the AGO.
It turns out though; it was the last day of the exhibition. There were many people, so much that everywhere I go, I would almost-bump into others. Indeed, this was a pleasant surprise as I was not expecting such great turnout. If this is any indicator of the status of the Toronto Arts scene, then the Arts community in Toronto is doing much better than I would have thought.
Since I know almost nothing about Ai Wei Wei the artist, I paid extra attention to the biographical information from the exhibition pamphlet. Ai Wei Wei, was described as of the most influential contemporary artist of our time. He is a Chinese artist, active in creating sculptures and art using all types of medium,using  both traditional and daily objects. One can sense the emotional tension expressed in his art throughout this exhibition. Right away, one can sense the artist discontent with the Chinese Government in human rights; the lack of transparency of government policies and cover-ups of the supposed corruption with officials. All these could be seen through the artist’s creation and explanation in the exhibit.
Perhaps the most interesting for me is the piece called “ Zi Zen” or “scattered”, a piece involving the splattered of a thousand or so plastic crabs. As a Chinese myself, I can understand the meaning behind such a creation. To me it was the artist’s nod to the indestructible reality that the Chinese race has been scattered around the world in the past 50 years because of political insecurities. Chinese people are unable to trust its own government to provide stability to their living and their cries for survival could be sensed and felt in this piece. Of course, my 4 years old son is unable to detect any of these messages, he just wants to know why some crabs are red and other are grey. I told him because the artist wants to show that the crabs are transforming, without knowingly at time, for the sake of survival, from one species to another.

At current, VPL does not have any books by the artist but we might be able to request books by the artist through our ILLO services
You can take a look at a few highlights of the exhibition right from the AGO website through this link