Internationally acclaimed artist and activist Ai Wei Wei has designed his first jewellery pieces in collaboration with Elisabetta Cipriani gallery in London. Entitled “Rebar in Gold”, they were on display in Chinese display cabinets designed by the artist at Design Miami/Basel fair in Basel last week.
The “wearable sculptures” are cast in 24 carat gold, and the shapes echo the steel rebar reinforcement rods Ai used in his piece “Straight” (2008-2012). The installation consists of re-straightened steel rods retrieved from buildings damaged by the Wenchuan earthquake – a critique of China’s somewhat lax building standards. The artist noted that the bangles are about “commemoration and memory”. The softness of the gold means that the 20cm and 60cm pieces can be bent according to the desires of the wearer – be it a remembrance of life lost or in commemoration of a life ahead.
Ai Weiwei’s 24 Carat Gold Rebars, which were made from rubble created by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, and are held in specially designed cases.
