Fountain of Light

2016
Ai Weiwei

It took dozens of chandeliers to build this work in steel and glass by Ai Weiwei (b. 1957). Made in Beijing by an artist based in Berlin who is also an inveterate blogger and traveller, it exemplifies the globalisation of art. Referring both to the Chinese lanterns of yesteryear and the readymades of Marcel Duchamp, the first person to turn an object of mass consumption into a work of art, these glittering and slightly kitsch chandeliers shed as much light on the common share of humanity as they pose questions.