Ai Weiwei’s highly anticipated three-dimensional print After Les Nuages (2024) is a reinterpretation of the artist’s iconic work Water Lilies #1 (2022) and marks the next major publishing highlight by Weng Contemporary in collaboration with Ai Weiwei and David Adamson.
The spectacular Water Lilies #1 (2022), which measures an impressive 15 meters, is the largest LEGO® work ever made and comprises 650,000 LEGO® bricks in 22 vivid colours. The triptych is a reinterpretation of Claude Monet's iconic Water Lilies (1914–1926). Much like an Impressionist painting, the beauty of Ai Weiwei’s masterpiece is fully revealed when viewed from a certain distance. The differently coloured LEGO® bricks serve as brushstrokes, similar to those used by the Impressionist Masters to capture the light and vibrancy of the world around them. This is no mere homage however, but a sophisticated dialogue between Monet’s monumental triptych Water Lilies and Ai Weiwei's own experiences, especially his formative childhood years spent with his father Ai Qing in a Chinese work camp in the Xinjiang province. This narrative is unlocked in the unsettling dark portal on the right which disrupts the familiar and tranquil beauty of the lily ponds at Monet's home in Giverny. Monet’s painting is woven into Ai Weiwei’s gripping life story to re-emerge as a confrontation with the systematic suppression of the freedom of speech, censorship, government surveillance, and imprisonment.
By recreating these iconic paintings with LEGO® bricks, - a universal symbol of creativity and play - Ai Weiwei connects the legacy of Monet’s groundbreaking work with his own activism and critique of authority. The combination of these influences elevates the piece from a mere tribute to Monet’s Water Lilies to a multilayered narrative of immense beauty, grief, and reflection on the importance of artistic freedom in society, that is at once playful and imposing.
Limited to a series of 14 prints, After Les Nuages stands as a masterpiece poised to become a cornerstone for contemporary collectors. Produced through an intricate printing process with 40 layers of ink on aluminium Dibond, the work reflects the unique texture and structural essence of LEGO® bricks without replicating its physical form. To capture the sheer scale and force of Monet's triptych Water Lilies, the monumental After Les Nuages was also innovatively divided into three separate panels, with each panel having the option to be hung separately. This union of visionary artistry and cutting-edge technology positions After Les Nuages as one of Ai Weiwei’s most iconic and technologically sophisticated artworks to only gain value over time.
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