The works of Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei have been featured in exhibitions all around the world, and now you can step into the mind of the man himself with the new Ai Weiwei 360 experience.

The stereoscopic 3D tour is takes you through a number of Weiwei’s works from 1993 until present day, including pieces inspired by his controversial 2011 arrest and detainment.

Commentary from the exhibition’s curators and interviews with Weiwei punctuate the photorealistic multi-room exhibition, giving insight into his intensely meditative art style. He uses materials like a pillars from a dismantled Qing Dynasty-era temple and antique Ming Dynasty vases—re-purposing cultural icons into thought-provoking pieces.

aiweiwei 360 art
‘Fragments’ (2005) – a piece made from pieces of Qing Dynasty-era temples

“This exhibition looks at the last 25 years of an extraordinary carrier where [Weiwei] works across a whole range of different media, but of course engages deeply Chinese cultural and material and political history…” said RA Artistic Director Tim Marlow.

Marlow joins WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in the introduction of the virtual exhibition, with voiceovers provided by Channel 4 News anchor Jon Snow.

The live exhibition, which ended in late December, was hosted by The Royal Academy of Arts in London. The 360 experience will however remain active from January 20th to November 20th of this year.

You can view Ai Weiwei 360 on Gear VR (instructions below), Google Cardboard, and through the browser on your desktop or mobile device.

‘Ai Weiwei 360’ on Cardboard

‘Ai Weiwei 360’ on Desktop/Mobile

‘Ai Weiwei 360’ on Gear VR

  1. Connect your Samsung phone via USB cable to your computer
  2. Download the updated Orbx media player from the Oculus Store
  3. Download aiweiwei360 and copy the folder into the Orbx Media folder on your phone
  4. You should then see the Ai Weiwei 360 icon in Orbx player when you launch the application in your Gear VR
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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Crystal Ye

    Excited to see more and more art museums are embracing VR. Do you know which studio helped produce the 360 content?

    • MattRogers

      I helped shoot the stereoscopic panoramas and produced the GearVR version of the tour.