Ai Weiwei: Circle of Animals

Figure 1.

Circle of Animals/ Zodiac Heads Ai Weiwei (2011)

In 2011 Ai Weiwei recreated his vision of the zodiac heads that in the 1800's were built as part of an elaborate water-clock fountain in the Yuanming Yuan Garden of Brightness. In 1860, the Yuanming Yuan was looted and burned and the twelve bronze heads were stolen, of which five have still never been accounted for.

In Weiwei's work seven of the heads are a recreation of the originals while the other five were re-envisioned by him. A smaller set was also made in gold while the large bronze pieces were designed as a public sculpture initially to be displayed in New York as shown in figure 1.

Figure 2.

Gold version of the monkey zodiac head

These twelve heads are seen as a hugely symbolic part of Chinese Culture, however Weiwei enjoys playing with the irony of something originally of European design (created by the direction of Italian and French Jesuits to create a European style) being held with so much patriotic value in China today.

Weiwei looks at themes like the combination of ancient tradition with modern day, culture, mythology and symbolism; all of which are themes I am experimenting with in my own practice. The scale of the gold sculptures is to the likeness of the original, whereas the bronze heads are deliberately a large, exaggerated scale to create a different perspective. This reflection of the importance of scale and what it does is something I need to develop in my own thinking processes.