Ai Weiwei's Sunflower Seeds at the Tate

The time has finally come for me to be back on my home turf after three months in Paris struggling with the French language and the French bureaucracy. As soon as I stepped off the Eurostar in London, I find myself being able to think and operate normally again.

Apart from rushing to my first and long overdue dim sum lunch at Royal China, checking out London's current exhibitions is also high on my priority list. I have been hoping to see a major Chinese contemporary artist being featured at the Tate Modern. Hence it gives me great pleasure to encounter Ai Weiwei's work in the Turbine Hall.

His installation is made up of what appears to be millions of sunflower seed husks, apparently identical but actually unique. Although they look realistic, each seed is made out of porcelain. And far from being industrially produced, they have been intricately hand-crafted by hundreds of artisans in the city of Jingdezhen, which is famed for its production of Chinese imperial porcelain since the 13th century.  I said to myself that this is where China's strength lies.  The massive burden of our population of 1.3 billion has now proved to our greatest asset.

Poured into the vast space of the Turbine Hall, the seeds form a seemingly infinite landscape. The work can be looked at from afar or it could be viewed at close range. Each piece of seed is a part of the whole - a poignant commentary on the relationship between the individual and the masses.  What does it mean to be an individual in today's society?

While his exhibition is taking place in London, news of Ai Weiwei being detained by the Chinese government appeared on 3 April.  It remains to be seen whether China will back down on this occasion and release Ai who has a huge following and support in the West.