Renowned artist and activist Ai Weiwei spent 81 days in a Chinese prison in 2011 following a government crackdown targeting human rights lawyers, writers and advocates. His experience and that of fellow freedom fighters is reflected in his installation Trace, a series of Lego portraits memorializing 176 political prisoners from throughout the world. First exhibited […]
Skirball Cultural Center opens an exhibition of portraits made up of thousands of LEGO bricks
Installation view of Ai Weiwei: Trace at Skirball Cultural Center. Photo by Robert Wedemeyer.
LOS ANGELES, CA
.-The Skirball Cultural Center announces that it will resume indoor museum operations this May with the Southern California debut of Ai Weiwei: Trace. Created by Ai Weiwei, one of Chinas most provocative and socially engaged living artists, the installation features portraits made up of thousands of plastic LEGO® bricks, each assembled by hand and laid out on the floor. These portraits depict individuals from around the world whom Ai and leading human-rights groups consider to be activists, prisoners of conscience, and advocates of free speech. The body of work is shaped by Ais own experiences as an outspoken human-rights activist: In 2011, he was arrested, interrogated, and incarcerated by the Chinese government for eighty-one days. Upon release, he was kept under surveilla
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