CIRCLE OF ANIMALS / ZODIAC HEADS

Internationally acclaimed Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei has re-interpreted the twelve bronze animal heads representing the traditional Chinese zodiac that once adorned the famed fountain-clock of the Yuanming Yuan, an imperial retreat in Beijing. Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads is the artist's first major public sculpture project.

Designed in the 18th century by two European Jesuits serving in the court of the Qing dynasty Emperor Qianlong, the twelve zodiac animal heads originally functioned as a water clock-fountain, which was sited in the magnificent European-style gardens of the Yuanming Yuan. In 1860, the Yuanming Yuan was ransacked by French and British troops, and the heads were pillaged. In re-interpreting these objects on an oversized scale, Ai Weiwei focuses attention on questions of looting and repatriation, while extending his ongoing exploration of the 'fake' and the copy in relation to the original.

Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads is the centerpiece of a global, multi-year touring exhibition that will be presented in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The official world tour for Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads by Ai Weiwei launched in New York City at the historic Pulitzer Fountain at Grand Army Plaza in May 2011.

Ai Weiwei—artist, architectural designer, curator, and social activist—is perhaps the best-known and most successful contemporary artist in China. Ai Weiwei was born in Beijing in 1957 and is the son of acclaimed poet Ai Qing, one of the country's finest modernist poets. Ai Qing's work appeared in nearly every literature textbook until he was branded a rightist and exiled to a remote outpost of western China. Ai Weiwei's birthright was simultaneously one of a cultural insider and a political outsider. Growing up in exile laid the groundwork for his future as a social activist and spokesperson for freedom of speech and against injustice. Upon his return to Beijing in 1978, Ai Weiwei became an early member of “The Stars” (Xing Xing), one of the first avant-garde art groups in modern China. In 1981, he moved to New York City, where he gained attention for an art based on transforming everyday objects into conceptual works. Returning to China in 1993, Ai Weiwei co-founded the Chinese Art Archive & Warehouse (CAAW), a nonprofit loft-gallery in Beijing where he still serves as director.

A highly regarded artist in China and abroad, he has exhibited in museums and galleries around the world. He worked closely with Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron to design the 2008 National Olympic Stadium ("the Bird's Nest"). Most recently, Ai Weiwei made headlines with Sunflower Seeds, an exhibition in the Turbine Hall at London's Tate Modern Museum, which consisted of 100 million hand-painted porcelain seeds.

Ai Weiwei received the Chinese Contemporary Art Award for Lifetime Contribution in 2008. Despite his success as an artist at home, however, Ai Weiwei has frequently found himself at odds with the Chinese government in his stance on free speech and human rights. He often leverages his work and acclaim to make explicit his opinions as one of China's most outspoken cultural critics.

With his finger on the pulse of modern China and unafraid to spotlight injustices in Chinese society, Ai Weiwei maintains a connection with a devoted Chinese following through his blog and Twitter account. He has risked his life leading a number of high-profile protests to defend his beliefs which have caused him to be repeatedly, and sometimes severely, punished by Chinese authorities while drawing attention and support from all over the world.