Seeds of an artistic idea
A vast floor within Tate Modern has been carpeted with more than 100 million "sunflower seeds".
Visitors will be able to walk on and touch the seeds – the brainchild of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, in fact made of porcelain. Each imitation seed husk was individually handcrafted.
Sunflower seeds are a popular Chinese street snack but also hold another meaning for the artist, a political dissident in China. During the Cultural Revolution, propaganda images showed Chairman Mao as the sun and the mass of people as sunflowers turning towards him.