Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads

Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads draws inspiration from sculptures that once adorned the fountain clock at Yuanming Yuan, an imperial retreat outside Beijing, representing the signs of the zodiac (snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog, pig, rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, and dragon). Designed by Italian artist Giuseppe Castiglione in the mid-eighteenth century, the original works were looted in 1860, when France and Britain invaded China. The reenvisioning of the work represents an intriguing intersection of history and politics and is a reflection on the complexities of authenticity and derivation. By reinterpreting art commissioned by a Qing dynasty emperor, designed by an Italian artist, engineered by a French Jesuit mathematician, and accessible only to the elite circles of eighteenth-century Chinese society—and then sending the resultant sculptures on a worldwide tour—Ai Weiwei complicates conversations about repatriation, shared cultural heritage, and contemporary expectations regarding the democratization of art and public space.