Ai Weiwei will exhibit his work "Straight" (2008-12) as part of his first major survey in the UK, which opens at London's Royal Academy of Arts on September 19.

"Straight"—made in response to the large number of children who died as a result of shoddy construction following the Sichuan Earthquake in 2008—is made of about 200 tons of steel. The bars, which were twisted and distorted during the earthquake, were taken from the wreckage and pulled straight, thus creating the work.