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Ai Weiwei — History of Bombs
Ai Weiwei

History of Bombs

2020

This offset lithograph presents a comprehensive visual catalog of bomb designs and evolution, rendered in grayscale technical illustration style. The work documents various ordnance types arranged systematically across the composition, each labeled with specifications and designations. By presenting weapons as archeological or historical artifacts, the piece invites contemplation of technological development and human conflict. The clinical presentation contrasts sharply with the destructive potential of the depicted objects, creating conceptual tension between documentation and critique. The work functions simultaneously as historical record, social commentary, and visual archive.

Medium
Offset lithograph print on 170 GSM FSC paper
Dimensions

Notes

Lot 115 in EHC Essentials: Modern and Contemporary on Artsy (May 19, 2026). Edition of 1.

🔨 Auction Lot

EHC Essentials: Modern and Contemporary

May 19, 2026

Lot 115

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About this work

Ai Weiwei, History of Bombs, 2020

This offset lithograph presents a comprehensive visual catalog of bomb designs and evolution, rendered in grayscale technical illustration style. The work documents various ordnance types arranged systematically across the composition, each labeled with specifications and designations. By presenting weapons as archeological or historical artifacts, the piece invites contemplation of technological development and human conflict. The clinical presentation contrasts sharply with the destructive potential of the depicted objects, creating conceptual tension between documentation and critique. The work functions simultaneously as historical record, social commentary, and visual archive.

Medium
Offset lithograph print on 170 GSM FSC paper
Dimensions
50.8 x 71.1 cm
Year
2020
Edition
of 1
Seen at
EHC Fine Art Auction, Unknown

Related themes

Information Design, Museum Quality Print, Institutional Critique, Offset Lithograph, Military History, Conceptual Art, Critical Practice, Modern Printmaking, Subversive Aesthetics, War And Conflict, Archival Aesthetics, Monochromatic print, Geopolitical Art, Social Commentary, Technical Illustration, Contemporary Art, Political Art, Weapons Documentation, Historical Documentation, Contemporary Activism

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Collected by

Sarah Greenspan