From June to July 2017, Ai Wei Wei invited 1001 Chinese citizens (workers, students, a rock band, etc.) to visit in five steps Documenta in Kassel. They were chosen amongst thousand of applicants from different parts of China. Most of them were not able to talk a foreign language. The premises of former tent factory Gottschalk & Co were arranged for them to stay on site. This tremendous action was called “Fairytale” as a tribute to the Grimm brothers who wrote most of their tales in Kassel between 1812 and 1815.
Lot 125 - Ai Weiwei (né en 1957)
Fairytale-1001 chairs, 2007
Set sold 53 300 €
Beyond local reference, the fairytale is as well an inspiration in its pedagogical function transmitting values and visions of different worlds. Ai Wei Wei has also lived outside his native country: he knows the potential for change in a new environment and in the power of personal experience. Presenting Chinese guests to the international art world forms a potentially advantageous situation to raise awareness on global connections and cultural identity. After a totalitarian regime and enormous social changes, China particularly needs an exchange based on individuals, and not on institutions. As Chinese people mix easily with Kassel social landscape, the exhibition shows 1001 wood stools of Qing dynasty (1644-1911) collected and restored by Ai Wei Wei who has a passion for antiquities. These elements as a whole add something else – a strange aspect – to traditional Chinese tales: “Fairytale” becomes an experience dealing with the different ways of transmitting knowledge.
Lot 126 - Ai Weiwei (né en 1957)
Fairytale-1001 chairs, 2007
Set sold 53 300 €
Lot 127 - Ai Weiwei (né en 1957)
Fairytale-1001 chairs, 2007
Set sold 53 300 €
