Edgy China works

AN art installation made up of stools and sunflower seeds might not send a political message; until combined with government intervention, that is.

That's exactly what happened to Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's untitled installation work at the Chinese Contemporary Art Award (CCAA) ceremony in April this year.

It started out as an innocent piece about the history and growth of the Chinese contemporary art scene, but that changed just one day before the ceremony. Chinese government officials showed up at the exhibition venue and forced the removal of the artist's work, as well as any mention of his name, from the entire exhibition.