I found this ceramic sunflower seed in London on the street, far away from Tate Modern. The Unilever Series: Ai Weiwei till 2 May 2011 The work consists of one hundred million porcelain sunflower seeds, each individually sculptured and hand-painted. The Chinese Government seems to be scared by Ai Weiwei and his work. In 2009 the artist nearly died after being beaten up by Policemen. Since last year, he is not allowed to leave the country anymore “for reasons of national security”. In an interview, Ai Weiwei said: “I hope that our society becomes more equal, so that there are equal opportunities. I also hope that there will be freedom of expression. I don’t want to be an artist who doesn’t care about these questions. If you live in a dictatorship, you have to fight back.” Have a look at Ai Weiwei’s website!
I loved this installation, too. Your photo shows the purity and beauty of the individual seed, normally hidden by the masses of the other seeds in the installation. It makes me sick to read that artists (people) are locked up by such Governments. I wish him all the best.