The Animal that Looks Like aLlama but is Really an Alpaca, 2015. Image provided by MMCA.

MMCA unveils 《Ai WeiWei : Defend the Future》, a solo exhibition of Ai Weiwei, through April 17th, 2022, at MMCA Seoul. He is a globally-renowned artist, filmmaker, architect, and activist. The title of the exhibition, "Defend the Future," (which is literally translated as "The Future of Humans" in Korean) is a combination of "humans," a leading theme of Ai’s artistic agenda, and "future," the artist’s main artistic pursuit. It is an exhibition of Ai Weiwei (born 1957) that is dedicated to the artist's numerous artworks on the themes of freedom of expression and the lives of refugees. The artist has been highly active in a wide range of areas, from painting and photography to film,
installation, architecture, public art, ceramics, and publication.

The exhibition will showcase Ai's representative works that transcend the dualities of the East and West, including his photography series Study of Perspectives, 1995-2011 (2014); Study of Perspective in Glass (2018) and Black Chandelier (2017-2021), both in Murano glass created in collaboration with the Berengo Studio on Murano Island, Venice; Porcelain Pillar with Refugee Motif (2017) and Ruyi (2012), made from ceramics from Jingdezhen, a place known for porcelain production in China. The exhibition is expected to take visitors on a journey into the artist's time and space, allowing them to browse through about 120 pieces of Ai's representative works that ranges
from a 12-meter bamboo figure reminiscent of a jade burial suit from the Han Dynasty (ca. 2000 years ago), through a documentary about the Rohingyas (stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group residing in Myanmar), to a Neolithic Vase with Coca-Cola Logo.

Under six key terms—Freedom of Expression; Art and Activism; Government, Power, and Making Moral Choices; The Digital World; History, the Historical Moment, and the Future; and Personal Reflection—Ai Weiwei's videos, archives, and about 30 books about him and his oeuvre, including his recent memoir, 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows (Crown, 2021), are showcased in the archive section.

For Further Information : MMCA