Ai Weiwei “F Grass” @ Vancouver Biennale

Chinese artist and social activist Ai Weiwei has unveiled his latest public installation at the Vancouver Biennale in the Harbour Green Park. Dubbed F Grass, this piece is 182 square meters and features 1,328 tufts of iron grass that of course spells out the letter “f.” F Grass is said to be a continuation of the artist’s large-scale installation “Sunflower Seeds” as they both share a similar theme: “The relationship between the individual and the collective and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of Chinese government censorship, control and secrecy.” What’s more is that Weiwei’s studio is located in Caochangdi, Beijing, which translates to “grasslands” in Mandarin, and the slang for the f-word is pronounced the same as the character for “grass.” We’re sort of interpreting this installation as a big ‘f-you China’ all the way from Vancouver.