16 tree-mendous Instagrams of Ai Weiwei's 'Tree' installation

Who says art belongs behind protected glass in so-quiet-you-could-hear-a-pin-drop galleries? Okay, we're not saying that the Tate Modern should just offload its entire collection on the streets, but lately we've noticed a few impressive installations cropping up outside in London and we definitely approve. First there was the giant pointing fingers in Trafalgar Square, then those mysterious apocalyptic horsemen lurking about in the Thames - and now eight giant trees have popped up in the courtyard of The Royal Academy of Arts.

The seven-metre tall trees are the work of Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei, and the installation coincides with a retrospective of his work at The Royal Academy that opens on September 19.

 

A photo posted by Elle Burnett (@ellebelle1223) on Sep 12, 2015 at 8:36am PDT

Back in July, The Royal Academy of Arts started a Kickstarter campaign to bring Ai Weiwei's trees to London, which raised a total of £123,577 as fans of his work dug deep to help make the outdoor exhibit happen.

 

A photo posted by EPi (@eric.pietrac) on Sep 12, 2015 at 6:00am PDT

Weiwei has been working on the 'Tree' series since 2009 and the whole installation is made from, er, trees - but not in their full form. Weiwei buys parts of trees that have died naturally in southern China and are sold in the markets of Jingdezhen, before transporting them to his Beijing-based studio where he pieces together the different chunks to make whole trees.

 

A photo posted by @ypesh on Sep 12, 2015 at 3:42am PDT

And naturally, Londoners have already been Instagramming the hell out of those trees. Take a look at some more snaps:

 

A photo posted by Dee Bowman (@2deebowman) on Sep 12, 2015 at 11:10am PDT

 

A photo posted by Leena Patel (@lpatel_41) on Sep 12, 2015 at 4:55am PDT

 

A photo posted by Caroline Payne (@paynecarly) on Sep 13, 2015 at 4:57am PDT

 

A photo posted by Mister Peebles (@hellopeebles) on Sep 13, 2015 at 8:35am PDT

 

A photo posted by Esme (@esmed_art) on Sep 13, 2015 at 9:12am PDT

 

A photo posted by Binita Dave (@bineeeets) on Sep 14, 2015 at 4:24am PDT

 

A photo posted by Niki. (@sheisniki93) on Sep 12, 2015 at 10:41am PDT

 

A photo posted by mbainesy (@mbainesy) on Sep 13, 2015 at 7:06am PDT

 

A photo posted by @adaziv on Sep 11, 2015 at 3:26pm PDT

 

A photo posted by straight, no chaser (@jodieontherocks) on Sep 14, 2015 at 6:08am PDT

 

A photo posted by Anita 🌿 (@anitalin79306) on Sep 14, 2015 at 5:50am PDT

 

A photo posted by Andrew Ellis (@drewellis) on Sep 14, 2015 at 5:26am PDT

 

A photo posted by strikestwice (@strikestwice) on Sep 14, 2015 at 7:28am PDT

Ai Weiwei’s 'Tree' will be on display in the courtyard until December 14.

Read more about Ai Weiwei's retrospective at The Royal Academy.