{"id":11064,"date":"2025-05-28T05:29:51","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T22:29:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/of-course-its-political-ai-weiwei-on-working-spaces-in-response-to-power-memory-and-loss\/"},"modified":"2025-05-28T05:29:51","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T22:29:51","slug":"of-course-its-political-ai-weiwei-on-working-spaces-in-response-to-power-memory-and-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/of-course-its-political-ai-weiwei-on-working-spaces-in-response-to-power-memory-and-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018of course it\u2019s political\u2019: ai weiwei on working spaces in response to power, memory, and loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI WEIWEI\u2019S STUDIOS TELL A STORY OF ARTISTIC RESILIENCE<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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At <\/span>Berlin<\/a>\u2019s <\/span>Aedes Architecture Forum<\/a>, the <\/span>exhibition<\/a> \u2018Five Working Spaces\u2019 invites visitors to glimpse into Ai Weiwei\u2019s studios across continents. On the occasion of the opening on May 23, 2025, designboom spoke exclusively with <\/span>the artist<\/a>, uncovering how each workspace embodies his political convictions, personal history, and creative vision. A central focus of the exhibition is Ai Weiwei\u2019s most recent studio in Montemor-o-Novo, <\/span>Portugal<\/a>, built using traditional Chinese <\/span>woodworking<\/a> methods.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2018My studio is an extension of my body and mental state. Of course it\u2019s political. Anyone who sees the exhibition can understand \u2014 it\u2019s not that I want it to be political. It just is political,\u2019 <\/span>Ai Weiwei tells designboom.<\/p>\n

all images courtesy of Aedes Architecture Forum and Ai Weiwei Studio, unless stated otherwise<\/p>\n

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ARTIST, ARCHITECT AND ADVOCAT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Rather than illustrating architectural typologies or design processes, \u2018Five Working Spaces\u2019 explores Ai Weiwei\u2019s studios as existential conditions, rooted in the artist\u2019s early experiences of political exile. Born in Beijing, Ai Weiwei spent his formative years in remote regions of China, where his father, the poet Ai Qing, had been banished during the Anti-Rightist Movement. Known for his outspoken critique of authoritarian systems and his advocacy for human rights, Ai Weiwei ranks among the most influential figures in contemporary art and activism. His wide-ranging practice \u2014 spanning art, architecture, film, and social engagement \u2014 merges traditional Chinese craftsmanship with global aesthetics and personal narrative.<\/span><\/p>\n

Five Working Spaces on view at Aedes Architecture Forum until July 02, 2025 | image \u00a9 Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk<\/p>\n

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FIVE WORKING SPACES AT AEDES ARCHITECTURE FORUM IN BERLIN<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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The exhibition \u2018Five Working Spaces\u2019 at Aedes Architecture Forum traces key chapters of the artist\u2019s life through the lens of architecture, presenting five studios located in Beijing, Shanghai, Berlin, and Montemor-o-Novo. Designed, commissioned, and inhabited by Ai Weiwei himself, each workspace mirrors shifting personal and political realities, documented through architectural models, photographs, drawings, and personal texts.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>\u2018What\u2019s similar is that all of them are tied to one individual \u2013 me \u2013 trying to fit myself into a working condition. But that condition is always changing. It\u2019s more about connecting to my life, to the conditions I was given, the environments I lived in, how I grew up, how I became an architect, how I acted during moments of social and political change,\u2019 <\/span>he reflects in our conversation.<\/p>\n

Ai Weiwei working on still life in his studio, Caochangdi, Beijing, 2000<\/p>\n

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His first studio in Longzhuashu, Beijing, redefined an austere concrete courtyard with a quiet gesture: planting Danish grass. The transformation was subtle, yet symbolically powerful \u2014 an act of reclaiming space through care. In the early 2000s, he designed his compound in the Caochangdi district, also in Beijing, which soon became a hub for artistic collaboration and large-scale installations. Both spaces would later be demolished by authorities, along with others: the Malu Studio near Shanghai in 2011, dismantled shortly after completion, and the Zuoyou Studio in 2018, destroying works still stored inside.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2018I\u2019m used to irrational violence and no explanation. You cannot figure out the logic. You just take it and survive in it,\u2019<\/span> the artist recounts, reflecting on these losses. \u2018I grew up in that kind of environment. I was born into it. My father was exiled the year I was born. As demonstrated in the exhibition, I lived underground with my father \u2014 in a black hole.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

demolition of the Shanghai studio in Malu<\/p>\n

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In Berlin, Ai Weiwei established a studio in the cellar of a former brewery \u2014 an underground, introspective space that resonates with the years he spent in forced exile alongside his father in remote Xinjiang. Tucked away beneath the surface, for the artist, working underground is not only a physical experience, but also an emotional excavation, shaped by reflection and a return to memory.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Speaking to designboom, Ai Weiwei elaborates on this temporal shift: \u2018I\u2019m considered a contemporary artist, but my deepest emotions are connected to the past. I\u2019m not familiar with German culture, because I don\u2019t speak the language. I always relate my practice to the past. I appreciate human memory. Without memory, we don\u2019t know who we are or where we come from. Then we can\u2019t appreciate our current condition.<\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

inside Ai Weiwei\u2019s studio in Berlin, 2018<\/p>\n

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The most recent of Ai Weiwei\u2019s five working spaces lies in Montemor-o-Novo, a rural town in southern Portugal. The expansive wooden structure draws on traditional Chinese joinery, assembled without nails or screws. Designed with 100 regular columns and a rotated roof that echoes his demolished Malu Studio near Shanghai, the building stands as a monument to craftsmanship and cultural memory. This fifth studio, completed in 2023, resists categorization. Officially registered as a warehouse, it contains no defined program.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2018Architecture is part of our body \u2014 our state of mind and physical condition,\u2019<\/span> reviewing the decision to settle in Portugal, Ai Weiwei notes a change in pace and outlook. \u2018I want a location that\u2019s peaceful and quiet. A place where you can look at the sky and realize there are stars. In the morning, you can see the sun rays. In the evening, the moon comes up. That fits my psychological condition today.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

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timberwork of the Portugal studio in Montemor-o-Novo | image \u00a9 Yanan Li<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

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Ai Weiwei\u2019s Portugal studio in bird perspective<\/p>\n

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his fifth studio, completed in 2023<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

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Montemor-o-Novo Studio, nine-part representation model | image \u00a9 Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk<\/p>\n

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exhibition view | image \u00a9 Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

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project info:\u00a0<\/p>\n

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name: Five Working Spaces<\/span><\/p>\n

artist: Ai Weiwei | <\/span>@aiww<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/a>location: Aedes Architecture Forum<\/span><\/a>, Berlin, Germany | <\/span>@aedesberlin<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

dates: May 24 \u2013 July 02, 2025<\/span><\/p>\n

The post \u2018of course it\u2019s political\u2019: ai weiwei on working spaces in response to power, memory, and loss<\/a> appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AI WEIWEI\u2019S STUDIOS TELL A STORY OF ARTISTIC RESILIENCE \u00a0 At Berlin\u2019s Aedes Architecture Forum, the exhibition \u2018Five Working Spaces\u2019 invites visitors to glimpse into Ai Weiwei\u2019s studios across continents. 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