AI WEIWEI (b. 1957)
1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows: A Memoir
signed by the author on the title page
printed book, burnt and shaped into profile of Marcel Duchamp
9¹⁄₄ x 5⁷⁄₈ x 1¹⁄₈in. (23.6 x 15 x 2.8cm.)
Executed in 2022

[CREATED FROM:]

Ai Weiwei. 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows: A Memoir. London: Penguin, 2021.

The book as a work of art: Ai Weiwei transforms a signed copy of 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows, sculpting the profile of Marcel Duchamp into his 2021 memoir. Ai Weiwei’s fascination with Marcel Duchamp is an enduring one: the artist-dissident first developed an appreciation for the latter’s work – especially the ‘readymades’, with their implied critique of cultural value systems – following his move to New York in 1981 to study visual art.

Octavo. Original card covers.

[sold with:] USB flash drive containing a video of the book in the artist’s studio.

The Artist requires the buyer of this lot may not sell the lot for a period of five years from the date the auction closes.

Buyer’s premium is payable, with a significant portion donated by Christie’s to English PEN, but note that no VAT is payable on hammer price or buyer’s premium.
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