Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei is taking over Le Bon Marché, an upscale department store in Paris, with a giant installation titled “Er Xi, Air de Jeux” (or Child's Play).The commissioned artworks are inspired by the Shan Hai Jing (Classic of Mountains and Seas), a collection of epic legends and fairy tales that dates back to Chinese antiquity and centered around the Yellow Emperor, or heavenly emperor of the west. Using traditional folk-craft techniques, dragons and chimera are made from bamboo and rice papers, materials that the artist first used as a child to build his first kite.The installation, overhanging the atriums of the department store where luxury cosmetic counters of brands like Chanel and Dior can be found, is due to be officially unveiled on January 16, but is currently being installed (click on the slideshow to see some photos). The artist is also creating 10 storefront display windows, as a prelude to the works inside the store.“Introducing the fantastic within a retail space strikes the imagination of customers, visitors, passersby. We all lead parallel lives in this other world of dreams, fantasies and feats. We must learn to coexist with them as they are an integral part of our humanity; to embrace our mythology. Children know how to do this naturally. This exhibition speaks to our inner child,” the artist said in a statement.“The Shan Hai Jing is the China of my childhood, but also contemporary China, which is a mythology no one understands, not even me. That’s why it’s so fascinating,” he added.
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