Ai Weiwei places new art outside Sydney museum inspired by Ukraine war

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei unveiled an installation of 500 cast-iron combat helmets outside the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in Sydney on Friday, inspired by Germany’s controversial decision to send helmets rather than weapons to Ukraine in early 2022.

The 40-metre-long installation, entitled “Mushrooms,” has been displayed on the public green space Tallawoladah Lawn, overlooking the city’s famous harbour.

The helmets are arranged in 10 even rows on a raised platform, with a central walkway allowing visitors to pass through the middle of the work.

The individual helmets are replicas of various 20th-century combat helmets, complete with their inner padding, and represent both the protection and the vulnerability of human life.

In a statement published by the museum on Friday, the artist said: “In the era we live in, the 21st century, wars have not ceased.”

“We continue to exist in a time where war and peace interchangeably assume each other’s roles, shaping the identity of our age. I hope this work prompts people to reflect on war and peace,” he said.

The work is closely linked to a controversial episode in German policy on Ukraine. According to the museum, the starting point for “Mushrooms” was the government’s decision to supply Ukraine with around 5,000 protective helmets in early 2022.

The delivery drew fierce criticism and became a symbol of what critics saw as Germany’s hesitant support for Ukraine.

Kiev’s mayor and former world boxing champion, Vitali Klitschko, said at the time: “Five thousand helmets are an absolute joke. What does Germany want to send next as support? Pillows?”

Ai Weiwei said the title “Mushrooms” refers to the appearance of the helmets, but also to the properties of fungi: They transform decaying material into new life and represent growth in darkness. He added that the term also evokes mushroom clouds from nuclear explosions.

The installation is free to visit until 2028.