Ai Weiwei

Blenheim Art Foundation unveils the monumental gold bird cage, Gilded Cage (2017), by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, now on long-term view in the grounds of Blenheim Palace. The work addresses the international migrant crisis, and the physical and ideological constraints of life as a refugee. The golden structure calls to mind a bird cage, elegant and whimsical yet loaded with significance as a symbol of freedom curtailed. Made from steel fences and standing at over 7m high, Gilded Cage confronts the refugee’s condition, excluded from citizenship and locked in a state of displacement. Ai Weiwei was the first contemporary artist in the Palace’s 300-year history to exhibit at Blenheim, when Blenheim Art Foundation launched in 2014, so Gilded Cage marks a welcome return by the artist.