liu wei sculpts architectural monuments from dog chews at qatar museums

liu wei sculpts architectural monuments from dog chews at qatar museums
installation view of ‘big dog’ at qatar museums gallery al riwaq, 2016
all images by wen-you cai, courtesy cai studio

as part of an exhibition of 15 chinese creatives curated by artist cai guo-qiang, liu wei populates qatar museums‘ gallery space with an installation of large-scale sculptures. ‘big dog’ continues wei’s use of unconventional sculptural materials by adopting rawhide dog chews as its primary medium. from the animal edibles, made primarily from ox hide, the artist has hand-sewed and sculpted a sequence of scale representations of architectural monuments that invade the al riwaq exhibition space. the tonality of the objects emulates the desert environment surrounding doha, re-contextualizing and drawing new meaning from the materials used. propped up on stilted scaffolds and scattered around the room, this fictional city of skyscrapers, building façades, and ornate columns forms a vast dystopian landscape for visitors to meander through. 

the artist has filled the gallery space with an installation of large-scale sculptures

the installation forms part of ‘what about the art? contemporary art from china’ on from now until mid-july 2016. the exhibition has been organized in conjunction with ‘the qatar china 2016 year of culture’ aimed at strengthening the understanding between nations through a mutual exchange of arts, culture, and heritage.

cai guo-qiang, who has devoted three years to the curatorial development of the exhibition, has chosen works that best illustrate each artist’s creative language and methodology. displayed in individual galleries, an approach that highlights the distinct artistic pursuit of each participant, the bodies of work cross multiple medias, including painting, sculpture, installation, video, performance, and interactive video game design. see our previous coverage of work by huang yong ping, also featured in the exhibition in doha, here.   

installation view of ‘big dog’ at qatar museums gallery al riwaq

the fictional city of skyscrapers, building façades, and ornate columns forms a vast dystopian landscape

the tonality of the objects emulates the desert environment surrounding doha

from the animal edibles, the artist has hand-sewed and sculpted a sequence of architectural representations

the exhibition includes an oil painting alongside a sculptural architectural model 

installation view of ‘panorama no. 2’, oil on canvas