aBOUT THE EXHIBIT
On view near the exhibition entrance will be The Animal that Looks Like a Llama but is Really an Alpaca, a gold graphic wall treatment that uses similar imagery but employs lavish color to create a tromp l’oeil effect. Those who look closely will be rewarded with an image of Ai Weiwei himself hidden within the pattern.
Why is the graphic wallpaper called The Plain Version of the Animal that Looks Like a Llama but is Really an Alpaca?
The title, and the work itself, has a touch of ironic humor and is a form of wordplay. The “Grass Mud Horse,” or caonima, is a Chinese internet meme that resembles an alpaca and is a popular symbol of defiance against censorship in China. In Mandarin, caonima can also be translated as an insult. The animal’s image has become an internet phenomenon worldwide, frequently appearing in the media and even on merchandise.
It is prefaced with The Plain Version to differentiate it from a similarly-titled earlier work, also on view in the exhibition, which features gold and 3-D modeling."
---ABOUT THE EXHIBITION, "Ai Weiwei: Trace at Hirshhorn", Hirshhorn Museum website.
about ai weiwei
THE HISTORY OF "TRACE" AT ALCATRAZ...
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