Ai Wei Wei had three of his large-scale works on display in the 2013 Biennale Exposition:

- ""Bang"", a forest of hundreds of tangled wooden stools, was the most prominent piece in the German national pavilion.

- His installation ""Straight"" was located in the Zuecca Project Space on the island of Giudecca: 150 tons of crushed rebar from schools flattened in the Sichuan earthquake of 2008.

- ""SACRED"", situated in the church of Sant'Antonin, consisted of six large iron boxes, into which visitors could peek to see sculptures recreating scenes from the artist's detention.