In the second room, the artist challenges Chinese history and heritage through his pivotal and iconoclastic works Colored Vases and the iconic triptych Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn. The political message becomes fierce and affirmative in the series of renowned black and white images Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, produced here in LEGO bricks, where the artist is immortalized destroying an antique Han pot whilst staring stoically at the viewer. In Free Speech Puzzle, Ai Weiwei uses an ancient craft technique, specifically the Qing dynasty imperial style of hand painting porcelain to create a geomorphic map decorated with the slogan ‘Free Speech’. In the smaller and more intimate room of the gallery is the most delicate yet strenuous and persistent trace of Ai Weiwei’s protest against the authorities.
12 September – 18 November 2017
Ai Weiwei
Galleria Massimo De Carlo
piazza Belgioioso, Milan