At the initiative of the French and German
foreign offices, this year’s German
Pavilion is housed in the French Pavilion.
For his installation for the German
representation at the French Pavilion, Ai
Weiwei has assembled 886 three-legged
wooden stools. In today’s China, the
three-legged stool is an antique.
Manufactured by a uniform method, i t
was in use throughout China and in all
sectors of society for centuries. Every
family had at least one stool, which
served all sorts of domestic purposes and
was passed on from generation to
generation. After the Cultural Revolution,
which began in 1966, and the subsequent
modernisation of the country, however,
production of these stools plummeted.
Aluminium and plastic have superseded
wood as the standard material for
furniture. Out of 886 of these stereotyped
and yet highly individual objects, Ai
Weiwei, recruiting traditional craftsmen
who possess the necessary and now rare
expertise, has created an expansive,
rhizomatic structure whose sprawling
growth recalls the rampantly proliferating
organisms of this world’s megacities.