Ai Weiwei unveils ‘Mushrooms’ at MCA Australia for the 2026 Neil Balnaves Tallawoladah Lawn Commission

Ai Weiwei has unveiled Mushrooms, a major new public artwork commissioned for the 2026 Neil Balnaves Tallawoladah Lawn Commission at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA Australia) in Sydney. Installed on Tallawoladah Lawn overlooking Warrane/Sydney Harbour, the work comprises 500 cast-iron sculptures of combat helmets arranged in 10 uniform rows across a 40-metre-long platform.

Transforming objects associated with conflict into a collective symbol of endurance and survival, Mushrooms reflects on the fragility of life in times of war and division. Each helmet is a one-to-one replica cast from a single mould based on a twentieth-century military helmet, and the work originated in response to the German government’s donation of 5,000 helmets to Ukraine in 2022.

Presented in an arrangement that echoes both contemporary Minimalism and public memorials, Mushrooms transforms hundreds of objects designed for protection into a collective meditation on conflict, resilience and the fragility of life. Its title draws on the regenerative qualities of mushrooms, which transform decay into new life, while also evoking ‘growth in darkness’ and the imagery of nuclear mushroom clouds. The work also continues Ai Weiwei’s longstanding engagement with conflict, displacement and the human condition, informed in part by his experience making the documentary Human Flow (2017).

Presented as the second annual commission for MCA Australia’s Tallawoladah Lawn, Mushrooms is free and accessible to the public, inviting audiences to reflect on peace, resilience and collective responsibility.

Shown here: Installation view of Ai Weiwei’s Mushrooms (2026) at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, Australia. © Ai Weiwei, Courtesy Lisson. Photograph: Anna Kučera.