00:18

square yellow and white print on a mirrored substrate

Ai Weiwei

Human Flow

€1,250

Edition of 100

Sold out

Love this work?

Our collectors sometimes rotate their collections and let us know when they would like to sell a work. Make an offer if you're interested in this piece and we'll connect you with matching artworks.

Human Flow belongs to a trio of artworks by Ai Weiwei which combine innovative printing methods with pillars of freedom upheld throughout his practice.

Figures in motion, laden with bags, move in an endless circle at the centre of the print. Razor wire surrounds them. CCTV cameras look on ominously. Ai reflects on the importance of a person’s liberty to move, and the forms of persecution that may lead them to do so. Opaque layers of white and yellow ink are applied to a mirrored aluminium substrate – subsuming onlooker and artwork in the reflective surface.

“If there is one refugee, we are all refugees. It's not that you're potentially a refugee, or potentially involved. We are involved. We are refugees. This idea is not easy to establish, so I tried to make it beautiful. You can see the image, but you can also see yourself in the reflection.”

Go behind the scenes at Make-Ready in London as Ai reflects on the profundities of printmaking, and its lineage within his practice.

Go deeper

06:12

Behind the scenes

Ai Weiwei

16 collaborations

Ai Weiwei is unafraid to speak truth to power. He’s one of the most famous living artists today – a testament to the breadth and vision of his practice. Effortlessly, he moves between different media, from sculpture and architecture to performance and documentary film. His work is often monumental in scale and is driven by a hunger for truth and justice. In 2008, for example, Ai spent many months collecting the names of over 5000 children who lost their lives in the Sichuan earthquake. This unflinching dedication to human rights saw him detained by the Chinese government for 81 days in 2011, accused of ‘subverting the state.’

Who else should know about this work?

Help us spread the word

Reviews from Avant collectors

Great experience all around, thank you! I love what you do and the fact that it allows me to own artist works whose originals I wouldn't be able to afford.
Review of Paysage d’Intérieur (printemps)
the packaging was amazing.
Review of Actual Size
Notifications and packaging were spot on. I will definitely make future purchases.
Review of Iris
i appreciate the speedy delivery and all interaction regarding my purchase was efficient and pleasant.
Review of Laying in the Grass (Hand-finished)
Very efficient, delivered as advised and superbly packaged.
Review of Guardian
The unboxing was wonderful! Great work! This was a total experience!
Review of Inner Love
thank you for the breath of life you bring the art community, you are the poet laureate's of packaging and one day gods will sing your praises. i am in heaven with this purchase!
Review of Descendent - Lucid Dreamer
Looks amazing - Very Happy
Review of HOPE (626-750)

Discover more print editions on Avant Arte

See all

Available

Hideaki KawashimaFan (Mishima)€1,000

Available

Zhang RuyiForced Separation€1,200

Upcoming

Glenn BrownA Sailor on the Bed€1,000

Starts in 00d 00h 00m

Draw

Kukwon WooWaterfall (Rōben)€1,500

Closing on 29 September