Love The Future / Free Ai Weiwei - Sean Martindale
On the eve of the opening reception of Sean Martindale's exhibition in support of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, the artist was conditionally released. Below you will find Whippersnapper Gallery's original curatorial text along with an adaptation that attempts to reframe the exhibition in light of Ai Weiwei's limited release and address the way in which the discussion on his detainment has expanded post-release.
You may also download a exhibition essay written by James David Morgan that further explores the meaning and consequences of Ai Weiwei's arrest.
You may also download a exhibition essay written by James David Morgan that further explores the meaning and consequences of Ai Weiwei's arrest.
Also: Check out the article in Toronto's free weekly, The Grid about Ai Weiwei's tour through various political sites in Toronto.
June 22nd
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On June 22nd, the Chinese state media reported that the contemporary Chinese artist Ai Weiwei had been released. Updates throughout the day offered conflicting reports of his reappearance, but it now seems certain that he has indeed been released conditionally. A great relief for the artist’s friends, family and those who stood in solidarity with Ai Weiwei, his release from prison is a cause for reflection and celebration.
For nearly three months, Ai Weiwei has been detained in an undisclosed location by authorities. Under the auspices of economic crimes relating to taxes owed by the company that owns his studio (to which his name is not legally attached), his detention inspired international condemnation from the artistic and human rights community. Ai Weiwei was most certainly incarcerated as punishment for his outspoken and overtly critical voice on the international stage.
On June 23rd, Sean Martindale will be unveiling his new sculptural installation at Whippersnapper Gallery titled Love The Future / Free Ai Weiwei. The work is inspired by the artist’s unjustified detention in concert with a global movement of solidarity to free the artist. More broadly, Marindale’s piece is meant to shed light on the consequences that face artists and political dissidents globally.
Martindale’s artistic practice is closely connected to the politics of public space and as a result his work is constantly subject to –and within the parameters of – the overarching politics of how we regulate freedoms of expression, mobility, association and so on, in public space.
As the exhibition progresses over the course of the next month, Martindale will be presenting accumulated and ongoing press clippings as a public document of Weiwei’s detention as seen through the lens of the international media. This chronicling of the ordeal will help to extend the conversation beyond Weiwei’s detention and subsequent release towards the fundamental criticisms and concerns that are thrust into the spotlight whenever a public figure faces persecution for their beliefs.
Ultimately, Love The Future / Free Ai Weiwei uses the spotlight focused on Ai Weiwei to call attention to the plight of those who suffer injustices in response to their actions and expressions of conscience. Weiwei is a poignant symbol, but by no means does his release represent the conclusion or satiation of these criticisms. Through his exploration of the Weiwei’s detainment, Martindale makes a bold statement while asking Toronto audiences to consider the space –both physical and political – that they reside within.
Download a PDF of this text
On June 22nd, the Chinese state media reported that the contemporary Chinese artist Ai Weiwei had been released. Updates throughout the day offered conflicting reports of his reappearance, but it now seems certain that he has indeed been released conditionally. A great relief for the artist’s friends, family and those who stood in solidarity with Ai Weiwei, his release from prison is a cause for reflection and celebration.
For nearly three months, Ai Weiwei has been detained in an undisclosed location by authorities. Under the auspices of economic crimes relating to taxes owed by the company that owns his studio (to which his name is not legally attached), his detention inspired international condemnation from the artistic and human rights community. Ai Weiwei was most certainly incarcerated as punishment for his outspoken and overtly critical voice on the international stage.
On June 23rd, Sean Martindale will be unveiling his new sculptural installation at Whippersnapper Gallery titled Love The Future / Free Ai Weiwei. The work is inspired by the artist’s unjustified detention in concert with a global movement of solidarity to free the artist. More broadly, Marindale’s piece is meant to shed light on the consequences that face artists and political dissidents globally.
Martindale’s artistic practice is closely connected to the politics of public space and as a result his work is constantly subject to –and within the parameters of – the overarching politics of how we regulate freedoms of expression, mobility, association and so on, in public space.
As the exhibition progresses over the course of the next month, Martindale will be presenting accumulated and ongoing press clippings as a public document of Weiwei’s detention as seen through the lens of the international media. This chronicling of the ordeal will help to extend the conversation beyond Weiwei’s detention and subsequent release towards the fundamental criticisms and concerns that are thrust into the spotlight whenever a public figure faces persecution for their beliefs.
Ultimately, Love The Future / Free Ai Weiwei uses the spotlight focused on Ai Weiwei to call attention to the plight of those who suffer injustices in response to their actions and expressions of conscience. Weiwei is a poignant symbol, but by no means does his release represent the conclusion or satiation of these criticisms. Through his exploration of the Weiwei’s detainment, Martindale makes a bold statement while asking Toronto audiences to consider the space –both physical and political – that they reside within.
June 10th
Download a PDF of this text.
Also Available in Chinese
On April 3rd 2011, under the guise of being investigated for suspected economic crimes, internationally renowned artist and activist Ai Weiwei was arrested while trying to board a plane to Hong Kong. He has not been heard from since.
In a piece that is partially a homage, partially a gesture of solidarity and partially an experiment in the politics of place, Sean Martindale confronts the disappearance of Ai Weiwei in his current work at Whippersnapper Gallery, Love The Future / Free Ai Weiwei.
The piece represents a bold extension of Martindale’s practice as a contemporary public artist; playing on the boundaries of fine-art discourses, intervention, and activist politics.
Typically, Martindale’s work has engaged with urban spaces, transforming components of public fixtures through guerrilla gardening and poster campaigns, as well as sculptural interventions. His work is uniquely aware of the nuanced politics of public space and how quickly these spaces internalize the over-arching politics of a society; how we use public space most often has direct correlations to public speech and freedom of expression, freedom of mobility and association. In his new work, Love The Future / Free Ai Weiwei, Martindale investigates these notions of space, ideas of freedom and the stark realities of repression through the narrative of the disappeared contemporary Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.
From his role as an artistic consultant on the celebrated Birds Nest Olympic complex in Beijing to the urgency in which he undertook a project to identify school children who died during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake (and the accompanying publication of those names and statistics for the first time), Weiwei has proven himself to be an artist that defies easy categorization and operates on a spectrum far more complex than simplistic political narratives.
Weiwei’s clever and provocative works have earned him a strong international following within the contemporary arts community, but have unfortunately also attracted the attention of the authorities in his home country. Prior to his current ominous detainment, he already suffered beatings, imprisonment and the destruction of his large Shanghai studio.
Martindale’s work, provocative in its solidarity is more than a symbolic gesture, it is a protestation of a political climate and ideology that allows artists – but more importantly – persons in general, to be physically removed from their homes and the public sphere for political ends. Martindale’s work is indicative of a politic of compassion that implicates those responsible, but also those who bear witness.
Download a PDF of this text.
Also Available in Chinese
On April 3rd 2011, under the guise of being investigated for suspected economic crimes, internationally renowned artist and activist Ai Weiwei was arrested while trying to board a plane to Hong Kong. He has not been heard from since.
In a piece that is partially a homage, partially a gesture of solidarity and partially an experiment in the politics of place, Sean Martindale confronts the disappearance of Ai Weiwei in his current work at Whippersnapper Gallery, Love The Future / Free Ai Weiwei.
The piece represents a bold extension of Martindale’s practice as a contemporary public artist; playing on the boundaries of fine-art discourses, intervention, and activist politics.
Typically, Martindale’s work has engaged with urban spaces, transforming components of public fixtures through guerrilla gardening and poster campaigns, as well as sculptural interventions. His work is uniquely aware of the nuanced politics of public space and how quickly these spaces internalize the over-arching politics of a society; how we use public space most often has direct correlations to public speech and freedom of expression, freedom of mobility and association. In his new work, Love The Future / Free Ai Weiwei, Martindale investigates these notions of space, ideas of freedom and the stark realities of repression through the narrative of the disappeared contemporary Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.
From his role as an artistic consultant on the celebrated Birds Nest Olympic complex in Beijing to the urgency in which he undertook a project to identify school children who died during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake (and the accompanying publication of those names and statistics for the first time), Weiwei has proven himself to be an artist that defies easy categorization and operates on a spectrum far more complex than simplistic political narratives.
Weiwei’s clever and provocative works have earned him a strong international following within the contemporary arts community, but have unfortunately also attracted the attention of the authorities in his home country. Prior to his current ominous detainment, he already suffered beatings, imprisonment and the destruction of his large Shanghai studio.
Martindale’s work, provocative in its solidarity is more than a symbolic gesture, it is a protestation of a political climate and ideology that allows artists – but more importantly – persons in general, to be physically removed from their homes and the public sphere for political ends. Martindale’s work is indicative of a politic of compassion that implicates those responsible, but also those who bear witness.