Audio recording

Showcased in the center of the gallery, delicate unfurling chrysanthemums and rose florets of pure white porcelain rest atop a detached bicycle basket made of the same material. The subtilty of difference between each hand sculpted detail becomes evident upon closer inspection: bright white, thin porcelain petals cling to the lip of the soot-toned basket. 

In 2013, dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei posted on his website: “From 30th November 2013, I will place a bouquet of fresh flowers in the basket of a bicycle outside No. 258 Caochangdi studio every morning until I regain the right to travel freely.” In 2011, the artist was arrested and held in detention without trial for 81 days by his government, for what was later alleged to be tax evasion. In the wake of his arrest, the government withheld Ai’s passport and ability to travel freely for a length of four years. In defiance, two years into his travel confinement, Ai began his performance titled With Flowers, which endured for 600 days.

Prohibited from speaking to the press, his silent demonstration serves as an extraordinary record of his imprisonment: daily, Ai placed dramatic bouquets of flowers in the plastic basket of his black Giant bike outside the aquamarine door of his studio and design firm. They were mighty arrangements, rarely modest, all formally documented on Flickr. Ai is both active and savvy on social media (which is part of what prompted his trouble with the authorities), and his flowers traveled far beyond his front door via posts on Flickr, Instagram, and Twitter. On July 22, 2015, the artist announced on Instagram that the government returned his passport.

Created in 2014, before his travel ban was ended, Bicycle Basket with Flowers stands in memoriam of the artist’s loss of a right to life, freedom, and humanity, commemorating his daily act of resistance. For Ai Weiwei, “Expressing oneself is a part of being human. To be deprived of a voice is to be told you are not a participant in society; ultimately it is a denial of humanity.”

Between the narrow lattice of the basket, the destemmed flower lid protects a second floor of floral that rests inside. In the center of the blooming bed, a petite rat sits. The entrapped rodent is impossible to decern from a single glance, and instead requires multiple angles of inspection to view. Created in the infamous porcelain kilns of Jingdezhen, China, there are multiple versions of this sculpture, but no two editions contain the same floral arrangement.

Please select the link to view With Flowers, Ai’s 600-day performance.