Forever Bicycles

Ai Weiwei sculpted the Forever Bicycles beginning in 2011, massive installations using thousands of interconnected Chinese bicycles. The sculptures form architectural structures, sometimes as large as three stories tall, transforming a symbol of Chinese daily life into monumental abstract art. The largest versions use over 3,000 bicycles.

The "Forever" brand bicycle has been manufactured in Shanghai since 1940, once symbolizing Chinese modernization and the aspiration for personal mobility. Ai strips the bicycles of their function, locking them together into patterns that recall both traditional Chinese lattice work and contemporary mass production. Individual bicycles lose identity in the collective structure.

Various versions have been installed at museums and public spaces worldwide, including the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square, and numerous European locations. Each installation adapts to its specific site while using the same basic elements. The work comments on China's rapid transformation, individual versus collective identity, and the fate of traditional culture in the modern era.