Kettle's Yard announces 2022 Ai Weiwei solo exhibition

25 November 2021

Kettle's Yard in Cambridge, UK, has announced an exciting solo exhibition by Ai Weiwei in which the artist's new and existing work will be shown alongside historic Chinese objects.

Opening on 12 February 2022, 'Ai Weiwei: The Liberty of Doubt' will explore notions of truth, authenticity and value, as well as globalisation, the coronavirus pandemic and the current geopolitical crisis. Ai will reflect upon the liberty in the West, in contrast to China and other authoritarian regimes, to question truth and authority, express doubt and seek transparency in political matters. However, in relation to art appreciation, the Chinese have a long tradition of a more fluid and less fixed view in relation to authenticity than is the case in the West, often valuing the act of copying.

The exhibition in the galleries is a single installation with 13 artworks by Ai Weiwei exhibited alongside 14 antiquities which the artist bought at an auction in Cambridge in 2020. This will be the first time the artist has juxtaposed historic Chinese objects with his own works. Some of the auction pieces acquired by the artist are thought to date from the Northern Wei (386 – 534 CE) and Tang (618 – 907 CE) dynasties, while others have been identified as counterfeits, later copies of original works. A number of recent films made by the artist will also be screened on each day of the exhibition’s run – Coronation (2020), Cockroach (2020) and Human Flow (2017) – while two Fairytale Chairs (2007) will be placed in the Kettle’s Yard House for visitors to use.

Find further information here.

Image: Ai Weiwei, Dragon Vase (2017) © Ai Weiwei, courtesy the artist.