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Publication
‘Crisis’ and planetary entanglements: Ai Weiwei’s Pequi Tree and John Akomfrah’s Vertigo Sea
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
This chapter examines two visual artworks: Ai Weiwei's 32-meter iron sculpture Pequi Tree (2018-20) and John Akomfrah's three-screen video installation Vertigo Sea (2015). It evaluates how these pieces encourage contemplation on the planetary "crisis" and concepts related to the Anthropocene, such as the Plantationocene. This chapter endeavors to further explore the relationship between postcolonial theory and the idea of "crisis" by emphasizing these artivists' impact on a new politics and aesthetics centered on planetary consciousness. Pequi Tree by Ai and Vertigo Sea by Akomfrah are presented as works of artistic-intellectual and activist expression that boldly speak truth to power from within the museum and gallery spaces. To frame the analysis in the context of the artivists' engagement with the planetary "crisis," I first discuss the idea of "the contemporary" and its connection to postcoloniality and the interconnected "crises" of the present, which intertwine with the Anthropocene. Then, I focus on adaptation as a creative approach to address representational and epistemic violence in the visual realm by continually transforming authorized, official "sources" and projecting the past into our understanding of current "crises."
Description
Keywords
Ai Weiwei John Akomfrah Anthropocene Plantationocene Artivism Crisis
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Mendes, AC. 2024. “‘Crisis’ and Planetary Entanglements: Ai Weiwei’s Intertwine and John Akomfrah’s Vertigo Sea”. In Postcolonial Theory and Crisis. Eds. Paulo de Medeiros e Sandra Ponzanesi. Berlin: De Gruyter. 239–247. DOI: 10.1515/9783111005744-014
Publisher
De Gruyter