Description:

Ai Weiwei
Chinese, (b.1957)
inidividual River Crab figure from He Xie, 3200 porcelain crabs installation
porcelain
What the title references
As the name suggests, the installation consisted of 3,000 incredibly real-like river crabs piled up across a corner of a room. Ai Wei Wei titled the work He Xie, a homonym for harmony and a phrase used regularly by the government. He Xie, according to sources, also refers to a slang term that represents internet censorship.
The meaning of Ai Weiwei's porcelain crabs
Ai Wei used porcelain crabs to represent himself, an artist whose voice has been restricted by authorities and has been forced to remain uncomfortably in a space that he does not belong in, motionless and restful. In the installation, a single crab was placed on a skirting board to symbolize the Ai Weiwei who it appears had managed to reclaim his passport for an amazing chance to show his artworks outside China for the first time in years.

  • Dimensions: 1 1/2"H x 7"W x 4"D (crab)
  • Medium: porcelain

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May 1, 2021 11:00 AM EDT
Indianapolis, IN, US

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