As promised here are some photos of the current public exhibition of
Ai Weiwei's Circle of Zodiac Heads at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It's a really cool display, recreating the famous bronze heads from the
Zodiac Fountain of the Chinese Imperial Palace in
Yuan Ming Yuan. The originals were looted by foreign troops during the
2nd Opium War in 1860.
The pieces are expressions of Chinese nationalist iconography, especially as testaments against western colonialism. However, they are also designed to be separate from any fixed location, being wanderers of the world's cultural venues. It's an interesting contrast of thematic emphasis.
In any case, they are wonderful sculptures of the
Chinese Zodiac animals.
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| Ai Weiwei's Circle of Zodiac Heads (Tiger and Rabbit) |
Unlike the western zodiac, the
Chinese assign a sign for the entire year. We are currently in the Year of the Rabbit.
