Ai Weiwei: “Brainless Figure in Cork”. Photo credit: © Juliette Bayen
”Brainless Figure in Cork” a sculptural self-portrait by the activist Ai Weiwei was part of a recent exhibition titled ’Ai Weiwei – Rapture’ at the Cordoaria Nacional, in Lisbon. Produced from high density agglomerated cork supplied by Corticeira Amorim and unlike a traditional sculpture, the preparatory work for Brainless Figure in Cork (91 x 81 x 148 cm) involved a CNC cutting machine to guarantee technical precision.
A craftsman then sculpted several details that could only be fine-tuned using manual methods. As in the cork cycle, this artistic project was born from the combination of manual work, state-of-the-art technologies and the grandeur of Nature.
Photo credit: © Amorim
This is not the first time that Ai Weiwei has used cork. In 2012, he also chose cork by for the Serpentine Pavilion in London created by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron.
Photo credit: © Luke Hayes
On that occasion cork was integrated within a circular structure comprising around 100 items of furniture all made of agglomerated cork. The results spoke for themselves: enjoying the highest-ever number of visitors to the summer pavilions of the famous London Serpentine art gallery.
Ai Weiwei finds peace in Portugal: ‘I could throw away all my art and not feel much’
An article by Steve Rose in The Guardian* last year tells us Ai Weiwei now finds peace in Portugal where he is building a huge new studio in the flat green landscape of Alentejo about an hour’s drive from Lisbon.
With not another house in sight, the studio will be a replica of his old one in Shanghai, which was finished in 2011 only to be almost immediately demolished by the Chinese authorities: officially, because it contravened planning regulations; unofficially, because of Ai’s outspoken criticism of the government. Months later, the artist was imprisoned for three months then placed under house arrest. When his passport was returned in 2015, he left the country and has not returned since.
The studio’s jointed timber structure draws on traditional Chinese architecture. It is not an easy job: no nails, no glue and every piece of wood different.
Photo credit: © Ricardo Lopes / The Guardian
* With thanks to The Guardian – https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/apr/03/ai-weiwei-interview-peace-portugal-chinese-might-western-jealousy-design
Cork for the “Brainless Figure in Cork” sculpture provided by Amorim – https://www.amorim.com/en/projects/ai-weiwei-brainless-figure-in-cork/4608/
