The Jacket of Life or Death

The recent art installations by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei have attracted a lot of attention. Consisting primarily of thousands of life jackets worn by refugees arriving in Europe after a dangerous voyage crossing the Mediterranean Sea, Weiwei’s art installations have drawn focus on the deaths and disappearances of thousands of refugees. This paper discusses the symbolism of the life jacket, both seen as a fatal anchor and a life preserver. Analysing the art piece Soleil Levant, I will argue that Weiwei’s art is a work of mourning and is offering a temporary space in the contemporary city for negotiating the complexities and ambivalences of mourning and the impossible task of keeping the dead alive. As a symbol hovering between life and death, the life jacket is thus an emblematic illustration of mourning