The twelve monumental bronze sculptures from Ai Weiwei's Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads arrived at LACMA earlier this week. LACMA's art preparation and installation teams have been working hard to unpack and wake these sleeping giants--some of which weigh nearly a ton.

The animals arrived two by two...

The animals arrived two by two...

Unsecuring the first of the sculptures--the ram.

Unfastening the first of the sculptures--the ram.

Four installers plus one crane slowly lift the ram.

Four installers plus one crane slowly lift the ram.

Repeat x 12

Repeat x 12

Ta-da!

Ta-da!

But the work isn't done yet. Next step is to unwrap and place the sculptures into their positions.

Next step is to unwrap and place the sculptures into position.

The dragon, snake, and horse stand tall next to the Resnick Pavilion.

The dragon, snake, and horse stand tall next to the Resnick Pavilion, awaiting the arrival of their zodiac counterparts. 

Ai Weiwei's Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads opens this Saturday at LACMA. A general admission ticket is not needed to see the work, so come by, take a picture in front of your zodiac sign, and enjoy the magnitude of these brilliant sculptures.

Alex Capriotti

Photos by Yosi Pozeilov