Today we discussed the work "Sunflower Seeds" by Ai WeiWei. This work was made of millions of sunflower husks in a turbine hall that seemed identical but were each unique in their own ways. Each seed was handcrafted and made out of porcelin. This gave the locals of the Chinese city, Jingdezhen, opportunity for employment as jobs were hard to come by. These workers individually sculpted and painted these porcelin seeds. "Sunflower Seeds" allows people to express powerful commentary on the human condition and the geo-politics of of cultural and economic change that takes place in our world today. In the turbine hall, people can no longer walk across the vast amount of sunflower seeds because of the air quality. The interaction between visitors and the porcelin creates a dust that can be damaging to your health if inhaled for a long amount of time. This work allows people to understand their individual (unique) role in society among the masses.
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