Ai Weiwei's 'Forever Bicycles' inspire reflection, social change

By NEAL MOORE

TAIPEI, Republic of China (CNN iReport) --- In Ai Weiwei's "first large-scale solo exhibition to be held anywhere in the ethnic Chinese world," Taipei Fine Arts Museum's 'Ai Weiwei absent' is nothing short of astounding, the highlight the artist's 'Forever Bicycles' installation, which was made specifically for this exhibition out of 1,200 bicycle units.

Ai, 54, who was unable to attend the exhibition, aptly named Absent, and whose immediate future remians highly uncertain, explained in a statement made available through the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, "Absence itself is the current status of my art and my person, and a part of my cultural circumstance.  This status endows this exhibition with a special significance."

"In the realm of contemporary arts," explains Yang Shunwen, of the Museum's press office, "the most important and essential way for a visitor to understand an artist is via the presentation of his works."

While Ai states his 'Forever Bicycles' installation is a "moving abstract shape that symbolizes the way in which the social environment in China is changing," it was interesting to ask for the public's reaction, as the work says different things to different people, to different walks of life, to people with varied life experiences.

One university exchange student, visiting from Hong Kong, was reflective, musing, "Just [like] our life, you can see many, many circles, just like every day - days and days," while the work conjured the words "Freedom" and "Social Change" from Sielske Sikkes and Jarry Porsius, a young couple visiting from the Netherlands.

Cai Lujun, 42, a member of the Chinese Dissident Community in exile, saw something deeper in the installation.  He was one of the first people in China to be sent to prison for posting pro-democracy articles on the internet, serving a three-year prison sentence from 2003-2006 in Hebei Province, just outside Beijing.  For him, the work was personal, and what it stated was a call to arms, transforming the bicycles of the exhibit into would-be dissidents, into those critical of the Chinese Communist Party.

"First, somebody should think, I am a human being," implored Cai.  "Only Ai Weiwei - no use.  Only Liu Xiaobo, only Cai Lujun - no use.  [Regarding] Mr. Ai's bicycle[s], one bicycle is only a bicycle, but one thousand, two thousand - you cannot say this is only a bicycle."

Photographs by Neal Moore (to view click through the blue dots located under the video box):

#2)  Two men walk past a banner advertising "Ai Weiwei absent", lobby, Taipei Fine Arts Museum.

#3)  Various people admire Ai Weiwei's "Forever Bicycles" installation, made specifically for the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. Bicycles. 2630 x 353 x 957 cm. 2011. Photographed at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.

#4) A woman walks past Ai Weiwei's "Forever Bicycles" installation, made specifically for the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. Bicycles. Detail. 2630 x 353 x 957 cm. 2011. Photographed at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.

#5) A young couple admire Ai Weiwei's "Forever Bicycles" installation, made specifically for the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. Bicycles. 2630 x 353 x 957 cm. 2011. Photographed at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.

#6) Ai Weiwei's "Forever Bicycles" installation, made specifically for the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. Bicycles. 2630 x 353 x 957 cm. 2011. Photographed at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.

#7)  Detail of Ai Weiwei's "Forever Bicycles" installation, made specifically for the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. Bicycles. 2630 x 353 x 957 cm. 2011. Photographed at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.

#8) Two men admire Ai Weiwei's "Forever Bicycles" installation, made specifically for the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. Bicycles. Detail. 2630 x 353 x 957 cm. 2011. Photographed at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.

#9) A man admires Ai Weiwei's "Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn".  Taipei Fine Arts Museum.  Photographed at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.

#10)  Ai Weiwei's "Map of China". Tieli wood from dismantled temples of the Qing Dynasty. 150 x 150 x 50 cm. 2004. Photographed at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.