100.000.000 porselain sunflower seeds

Somehow the idea of one hundred million porselain sunflower seeds touches my heart deeply. And the more I read about this work of art that Ai Weiwei created years ago, the more obsessed I get.

They are all unique, for one. Handmade, handpainted by a team of 1600 Chinese people in the land of traditional porselain, taking 2,5 years to create.

Sunflower seeds are a popular street snack in China. This reminds me of Andy Warhol’s soup can paintings. That personal connection to an artist’s childhood always makes me emotional.

But these porselain seeds are so much more. Ai Weiwei grew up during the Cultural Revolution, and the era of socialist planned economy with the collective worship of the ”sun”. Seeds of hope, but also a reminiscence of hunger and hardship.

This is, in my humble opinion, what art is supposed to be: thought-provoking and yet deeply personal. A self-portrait if you will, and a powerful symbol at once.

I have no idea if I will ever make a piece of art that will have this kind of force. But I can keep trying.

Oh, and I may have purchased a very small portion of Ai Weiwei’s seeds of hope. You never know if they’ll provide some kind of magical inspiration…