s.penkevich's Reviews > Zodiac: A Graphic Memoir

‘Art is wrestling with yourself.’

Midway through his graphic memoir, Zodiac, Ai Weiwei states that all artists should also be activists lest they simply be a ‘dead artist’ even while living. ‘Metamorphosis is the core of art,’ he explains later and sees the importance of creating and experiencing art not only as a transformation of the self but also society at large. This is certainly the case with Ai Weiwei who one cannot mention in terms of his art—be it his sculptures, photographs, documentaries or other installation pieces—without also discussing his activism, as if the two were simply dual appendages of the same body. His arrest in 2011 became a flashpoint for human rights and other activist organizations and as he was held for 81 days without a charge he quickly became a world renown symbol of artistic resistance and the importance of freedoms of speech and expression. Here Ai Weiwei along with Elettra Stamboulis tells his life story in graphic format with illustrations by Gianluca Costantini being both a memoir and a profound and philosophical musing on art, resistance and the importance of making your voice heard despite the powers that would rather have it be silent. This makes a great companion piece to his previous memoir, 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows: A Memoir from 2021. Told in a conversational style between Ai and his son or with interviewers and other artists, interspersed with mythological tales and framed around reflections on the zodiac signs in relation to activism, this is a fascinating and thought provoking look into the life and mind of this great artist.

‘Art is just the beginning’

I was lucky enough to see an exhibit of Ai Weiwei’s work when several pieces of his collection came to Grand Rapids, Mi in 2017. I’ve long been fascinated with him both as an artist but also as a symbol for the possibilities of art as activism and bold statements of freedom so this was a really engaging and enjoyable look at his life as well as his reflections on his own works. ‘Power is so afraid of art and poets,’ Ai tells us, ‘art has the possibility to defend very essential rights’ and he examines how many pieces of his own work set out to do just that. There are some great commentaries on works like his fairytale project at Documenta 12, the message behind his sunflower seeds, his work on the Birds Nest olympic stadium, or his collection of names of students killed in the Sichuan earthquake about which he says ‘All the silence from the State apparatus cannot erase the persistent memories of the survivors. We have to remember at least their names.’ He reflects upon his imprisonment, the demolition of his studio by the government, his inability to leave China after he was released and more. I also enjoyed that the book was structured around ideas of the zodiac, reflecting his own sculpture piece Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads.

Photo from when I saw the Ai Weiwei exhibit in Grand Rapids

‘Art is against repetition. It’s about leading us toward more dangerous ways of experiencing ourselves.’

Beyond his own life, Ai Weiwei also discusses the works of other important activists such as Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiabo or Ai Weiwei’s own father, Ai Qing who faced imprisonment and exile as well. Through it all he discusses how art is always a fight for freedom.

I really enjoyed this book and learned a lot reading it. It is really well paced and covers a lot of ground, both historically and philosophically. I love his love of poetry and belief in the power of art, it is truly inspiring. The artwork in this collection is wonderful too, often representing famous photographs of Ai Weiwei and his works while also moving into really surreal imagery. This is a great format for this work as it, too, is a work of art but is also very accessible to get the message across to a wide range of readers across a wide age range (this would work great in a high school classroom, for instance).

Perhaps my favorite moment of the book comes early on, however, in his discussion on why cats are left out of the Chinese zodiac. He explains to his son that he loves cats because they are ‘n animal that cat open doors, but they are different from human beings because they don’t close the doors behind them.’ He sees this as a symbol of great art: ‘The key is to keep the doors open…like the cats, we have to keep the door that we call freedom of speech and thought open.’ So perhaps we should all be more like the cat and keep the door open for art and freedom of expression. Zodiac is a lovely graphic novel.

4/5


What would a book on Ai Weiwei be without his iconic middle finger?