In the 15 years since his 81-day detention by China’s Ministry of Public Security, artist and dissident artist Ai Weiwei has explicitly addressed the harrowing experience in his work. This summer, he will do so again, in what will likely be the most demanding presentation to date.
As part of his site-specific exhibition called “Button Up!” at Factory International’s Aviva Studios in Manchester, England, Ai will present Sewing a Button, a 24-hour performance piece in which he will reenact his detention. The performance will activate a re-creation of Ai’s cell, which measured 7.2 meters by 3.6 meters (about 23.6 feet by 11.8 feet).
