It’s now over a month since influential Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was detained by China’s government. In what New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg called a "bittersweet honor," Ai Weiwei’s latest art exhibition opened today in NYC. The 12-piece outdoor public sculpture, entitled Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads, is supplemented by a special Tumblr blog, Twitter account, Facebook Page and official website.
Nobody has heard from Ai Weiwei since his detention on April 3rd, also the date of his most recent tweet (Weiwei is a prolific Twitter user). We hope this brave artist is safe and will be released as soon as possible.
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The Zodiac Heads will be on display at the Pulitzer Fountain in Central Park, through July 15th, 2011. The exhibition is made up of 12 bronze animal heads, representing the traditional Chinese zodiac. It was inspired by the fountain clock of the Yuanming Yuan, an 18th-century palace near Beijing. The New York Times wrote a thorough review of the work today.
The exhibition will be toured internationally, after the NYC stint ends in July. NYC Mayor Bloomberg spoke about Ai Weiwei’s detention at the unveiling of the sculptures today:
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