NARRATOR:

This installation is called Fragments. Ai Weiwei created it using tieli wood in 2005. It measures 4.9 metres in height, 8.7 metres in length, and 6.5 metres in width.

From a distance, the work looks like a forest of eleven rootless trees with thick, dark brown trunks and bare branches. Two of these trees stand taller than the rest. A thick log lies horizontally on top, straddling both ends of the ‘forest’. The shape of the trees resembles a group of people standing together, arms raised, and holding hands.

The trunks and branches are made from pillars, beams, furniture, and scraps salvaged from old temples. They are constructed using mortise and tenon joints, secured by round wooden pegs. A rectangular Chinese wooden table and two high-backed chairs lean against the trunks. They look as if they have grown naturally out of the trees. Or perhaps the trunks wrapped around the furniture as they grew. Next to the ‘forest’, you can see a pair of round conjoined stools. One of them is placed at an angle, its legs lifted off the floor. Together, they resemble a tiny tree just beyond the main cluster.

These pieces of temple architecture and furniture represent fragments of traditional Chinese culture. The weathered structures, with their original carvings, show signs of damage and erosion, and the mortise and tenon joints are exposed. Imagine looking down at the ‘forest’ from above. It is shaped like a rooster, similar to the silhouette of China on a map, with the tallest trunk marking Beijing’s location. Using traditional carpentry, Ai Weiwei transforms these broken pieces into a seemingly random entity. It is fraught with meaning, reflecting the boundaries and possibilities between old and new ideals.

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