Exhibition

Gu Wenda: United Nations

On view April 1, 2023 to November 5, 2023

Gu Wenda is among the most significant artists to emerge from China in the last 50 years. His awe-inspiring installations immerse visitors in a vision of shared humanity, global connectivity, and mass participation. He began as an ink painter, but by 1993 Gu began his united nations series, in which he works with human hair and other bodily materials. In 2000, he debuted his most expansive hair installation to date, united nations: man and space, which recreated the 188 flags of the member states of the United Nations from hair samples sourced from six continents. Using a material viscerally associated with the human body, this dramatic installation makes a powerful statement about what unites us as human beings across borders, racial, and political divides.

Gu Wenda: United Nations is organized by the Peabody Essex Museum. The exhibition at PEM is made possible by the generosity of Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation. Additional support was provided by individuals who support the Exhibition Innovation Fund: Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard, James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes, Chip and Susan Robie and Timothy T. Hilton, Kate and Ford O'Neil, and Henry and Callie Brauer. We also recognize the generosity of the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum.

Follow along on social media using #GuWenda

TOP IMAGE: Gu Wenda, united nations - man and space (1999–2000), as installed at the Saatchi Gallery, 2014–2015. Human hair, glue and twine. © Gu Wenda Studio.

Gu Wenda, United Nations, exhibition documentation. © 2023 Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.
Gu Wenda, United Nations, exhibition documentation. © 2023 Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.
Gu Wenda, United Nations, exhibition documentation. © 2023 Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.
Gu Wenda, United Nations, exhibition documentation. © 2023 Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.
Gu Wenda, United Nations, exhibition documentation. © 2023 Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.
Gu Wenda, United Nations, exhibition documentation. © 2023 Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.
Gu Wenda, United Nations, exhibition documentation. © 2023 Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.
Gu Wenda, United Nations, exhibition documentation. © 2023 Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.
A visitor admires the detailed work of Gu Wenda: United Nations.
Portrait of artist Gu Wenda in the exhibition United Nations. Photography by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.
Portrait of artist Gu Wenda in the exhibition United Nations. Photography by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.
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Gu Wenda: United Nations

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PEM is open Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays 10 am–5 pm.

Learn what steps are being taken to ensure the health and safety of our community at pem.org/safety.

Visitors may purchase advanced general admission tickets at pem.org/tickets or by calling 978-542-1511.

Admission: Adults $20; seniors $18; students $12; youth, members, and Salem residents free.

Location: East India Square, 161 Essex Street, Salem, MA 01970.

Press \\ Press Release

PEM Presents Extraordinary Immersive Installation by Leading Contemporary Artist Gu Wenda