The monumental triptych Water lilies 1914 -26 Claudio Monet, representing the quiet beauty of the nature As part of the world-famous series by the French Impressionist, it will take on new meaning thanks to a giant recreation by the artist and activist Ai Weiwei, who will hold a new exhibition in London.
The piece, titled Water Lilies #1it is the work of art Lego The largest that Ai Weiwei has made to date as it spans 15 meters long and is made up of 650,000 Lego pieces in 22 colours.
The new work will be on view as part of his highly anticipated exhibition Ai Weiwei: Making Sense at the Design Museum, opening Friday, April 7, marking the artist's first exhibition to focus on design and architecture, as well as his largest solo show in eight years.
En Water Lilies #1, the artist investigates the notions of reality and the artificial. It should be noted that although Monet's famous painting represents the epitome of beauty natural, the pond and gardens are a man-made construction as it was designed and conceived by Monet himself at the beginning of the XNUMXth century.
Detail of Water Lilies #1, 2022, by Ai Weiwei. Photo: Wallpaper Magazine
In Ai Weiwei's work, Lego bricks remove the human factor from Monet's brushstrokes in favor of a simplified and depersonalized language of pixel-like parts and colors. Through this, the artist comments on the contemporary way of consuming digital images and all that could be lost in the process.
“Our world is complex and heading into an unpredictable future. It is crucial that people find a personalized language to express their experience in such challenging conditions. Personalized expression arises from identifying with history and memories while creating a new language and narrative. Without a personal narrative, artistic storytelling loses quality.
“In Water Lilies #1 I integrate Monet's impressionist painting, which is reminiscent of Zenism in the East, and my father's and my own concrete experiences in a digitized and pixelated language. Toy bricks as a material, with their qualities of solidity and potential for deconstruction, reflect the attributes of language in our rapidly developing era, where human consciousness is constantly divided," the artist declared in an interview with Wallpaper Magazine.
Water lilies 1914 -26. Claude Monet. Photo: The Museum of Modern Art
Ai Weiwei first used Lego bricks as an artistic medium in 2014, when he used them to create portraits of political prisoners. Lego, now a key element of his practice, will feature in the soon-to-open exhibition at the Design Museum, primarily in the piece Untitled (Lego Incident), in which thousands of pieces from this renowned brand will fill the gallery floor.
Recall that this Chinese artist obtained the materials for his works through public donations from people around the world, in response to Lego refusing to sell him its products in 2014.
This monumental, complex and powerful work can be seen from April 7 to July 30 at the Design Museum in London.