MARSEILLE.- The Mucem is hosting Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, one of the major actors on the international art scene. The work of the photographer, architect, sculptor, performer, filmmaker and social media activist combines Chinese thought with contemporary art, namely drawing inspiration from Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol. His creations are able to challenge our societies with such force through his transformation of everyday objects into works of art.

Ai Weiwei is the son of the great Chinese poet Ai Qing (1910-1996), who discovered the West in 1929 on disembarking at Marseille, on the docks of La Joliette, near the Mucem. This connection motivated the artist to take us on a voyage through time and through his art, which he links back to his paternal lineage. Through the new resonances that emerge in this exhibition, we are able to view Ai Weiwei’s work in a new light.

Fifty artworks, 2 of which are new creations, (comprising photos, sculpture and installations) are placed in parallel with fifty objects from the Mucem’s collections, inviting us to question opposing notions such as “East” and “West”, “original” and “copy”, “art” and “craft”, “destruction” and “conservation”. But above all, they challenge the relevance of our systems of interpretation.

Ai Wewei (born in 1957) is an artist whose highly diverse body of work produces a powerful global impact. He is a creator of forms, with artworks ranging from the small scale to the monumental, but he is also committed to exploring new areas. Fully rooted in our times, he has been adept at mastering new methods of communication - social networks - just as Andy Warhol was able to do in his time, namely with television and the press.

Ai Weiwei is a bridge between Western culture and Chinese culture, despite his vocal opposition to the Chinese government.

Today he is collaborating with the Mucem, a societal museum whose collections tell us how we eat, how we enjoy ourselves, how we dress, what we believe in… Ai Weiwei is also interested in the daily life of mankind, which he illustrates through certain everyday objects that he transforms, according to the principle of the ready-made outlined by Marcel Duchamp in his time, by giving them the status of works of art. The artist and the Mucem therefore share one common, critical preoccupation: the observation of the everyday.

In Marseille he retraces the footsteps of his father, the poet Ai Qing (1910-1996), who discovered the West in 1929 after disembarking on the docks of La Joliette, near the Mucem.

The title of the exhibition, “Fan-Tan”, chosen by Ai Weiwei, refers to an English army tank which operated on French soil during the First World War. It had been donated by a Chinese businessman as part of the war effort. It was decorated with an eye on each side, the same eye that featured on certain Chinese boats. It was painted by volunteer workers from the Chinese forces (the Chinese Labour Corps) who also contributed to the war effort in England and France.

For the Chinese, “Fan-Tan” is also the name of a local betting game comparable to roulette. The choice of this title symbolizes the chaotic relations between France and China at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. A number of objects from the Mucem’s collections, chosen for this exhibition, illustrate this idea and date from this period.