Ai Weiwei's Royal Academy exhibit has 'powerful impact' on critics
Chinese dissident artist personally supervises London exhibit for first time in five years
![Ai Weiwei](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jmY33dMro2WkyUA6nsyi6R-415-80.jpg)
Ai Weiwei's new major retrospective at the Royal Academy has been described as "momentous" by critics.
It is the first time in five years that the Chinese dissident artist has been able to supervise a London exhibition. The Chinese authorities confiscated his passport in 2011, returning it earlier this year.
The exhibition, which opens to the public on Sunday, showcases some of his most important works from the last 22 years.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Racing between his time in jail, the Sichuan earthquake and 3,000 porcelain crabs, it is at once both "momentous" and "moving", according to Adrian Searle in The Guardian.
The repeated use of the crab, which in Mandarin is a homonym for "harmony" – a word much used in Chinese government circles – and simultaneously used on the internet in China as a slang for censorship, demonstrates Weiwei's critique of the Chinese State through the "cumulative effect of minimalism and conceptualism". The result, said the BBC, is to show us what it feels like "to be disappeared".
Mathew Collings in the Evening Standard says it is "high on spectacle", but questions whether the blockbuster show of the year lives up to the hype. In this country at least, Weiwei's notoriety as a figure "known for his head-banging amazing bravery in provoking and standing up to the Chinese government hasn't been matched by knowledge of his art". This show at least is an attempt to correct the balance, he says.
Giving it five stars, Mark Hudson at the Daily Telegraph agrees that this "substantial retrospective" presents our first real opportunity to "judge Ai's work as art rather than an appendage to a news story".
The "immensely impressive" exhibition gives a "choice array of works the space to make a powerful impact", says Hudson. "You come out of it feeling you've really been somewhere, and there are few enough exhibitions you can say that about."
In a recent interview Weiwei, slightly ironically, acknowledged that had the Chinese government left him alone he would not have achieved worldwide notoriety and would have easily disappeared. This show, at least, will make sure he is remembered.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Democrats now have a chance to present a vigorous, compelling case'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What has Kamala Harris done as vice president?
In Depth It's not uncommon for the second-in-command to struggle to prove themselves in a role largely defined by behind-the-scenes work
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
How Black organizations quickly pivoted and mobilized for Kamala Harris
In the spotlight Harris has a shot at being the first Black woman to lead the Democratic ticket
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Douglas Is Cancelled: Hugh Bonneville plays a shamed news presenter
The Week Recommends Cancel culture drama is mostly 'clever and sharp'
By The Week UK Published
-
A Quiet Place: Day One – the 'pleasant surprise of the summer'
The Week Recommends Silence is golden in this prequel to the popular 2018 apocalyptic thriller
By The Week UK Published
-
The Bikeriders: Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy star in high-octane drama
The Week Recommends Film inspired by 1968 book about notorious biker gang in Chicago
By The Week UK Published
-
Raffles London at The OWO review: a quintessentially British stay
The Week Recommends This heritage building has been given a twist as a luxury hotel in the nation's capital
By Leaf Arbuthnot, The Week UK Published
-
The Young Woman and the Sea: Daisy Ridley stars as 'tenacious' heroine
The Week Recommends The film explores the story of Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim across the Channel
By The Week UK Published
-
Has Bridgerton lost the plot?
Talking Point Return of the hit Regency series has divided both fans and critics
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Michelangelo – the last decades review: an 'absorbing' exploration of art
The Week Recommends New exhibition focuses on works from the final 30 years of the artist's long career
By The Week UK Published
-
Silversea cruise review: a Central and North American adventure
The Week Recommends An incredible journey featuring cultural exploration, cooking classes, comfort and more
By Yasemen Kaner-White Published