Ai Weiwei
Further images
Work subtitle:
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies,
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare sieze the fire?
And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!
When the stars threw down their spears
And water’d heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
- William Blake, 1794
In my opinion, human civilization can only be measured against human beings’ relationship with other beings in the world, our tolerance and understanding towards other species, and the well-being of all life. As a matter of fact, this kind of tolerance and understanding is very rare and difficult to find. Through the rug design, I hope to be able to do something for tigers; the meaning of their existence surpasses the scope of our comprehension, and yet 95% of tigers in the wild have gone extinct over the last 100 years, very sadly.
I am very honored to participate in this project and hope that more people will devote themselves to wildlife conservation in their own ways. Protection of endangered animals is a kind of self-love, without which we would all be living in a savage land." - Ai Weiwei, 2022
Devised and curated for WWF by Artwise. Produced by Christopher Farr, this edition has been hand made by Turquoise Mountain in Afghanistan.