New Ai Weiwei bicycle sculpture to be installed in London

Ai Weiwei’s new Forever sculpture is to be installed outside London’s Gherkin building. The piece is formed of hundreds of steel bicycles, joined to form geometric frames and layers. The title of the work refers to the Forever brand of bicycles mass-manufactured in Shanghai, China since 1940, that are gradually appearing more scarce on the streets of the city.

The artist says: “These are mostly objects that relate to my small world. For example, the Forever bicycles were a brand from when I was growing up. In our village there were no real roads and we always had to ride bikes to carry things. I thought they would be a good public sculpture because people relate to bikes. They’re designated for the body and operated with your body. There are a few things today that are like that.”

The piece will in place between 4 and 13 September 2015 as part of the City of London’s Sculpture in the City programme.