Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei; born 28 August 1957 in Beijing) is a Chinese Contemporary artist and activist. His father's side's original surname is 蔣 Jiang. Ai collaborated with Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron as the artistic consultant on the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics. As a political activist, he has been highly and openly critical of the Chinese Government's stance on democracy and human rights. He has investigated government corruption and cover-ups, in particular the Sichuan schools corruption scandal...
NationalityChinese
ProfessionSculptor
Date of Birth18 May 1957
CityBeijing, China
CountryChina
If there is no freedom of expression, then the beauty of life is lost. Participation in a society is not an artistic choice, it’s a human need.
Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it. I don’t feel that much anger. I equally have a lot of joy.
Measuring national prestige by gold medals is like using Viagra to judge the potency of a man.
A city is a place that can offer maximum freedom. Otherwise it’s incomplete.
For me, it is OK as long as I can breathe, as long as my heart is pumping, as long as I can express myself.
I am everywhere and I am nowhere. That's the beauty of the Internet Age.
Twitter is the people’s tool, the tool of the ordinary people, people who have no other resources.
Life is much more interesting when you make a little bit of effort.
Cities really are mental conditions. Beijing is a nightmare. A constant nightmare.
I will never leave China, unless I am forced to. Because China is mine. I will not leave something that belongs to me in the hands of people I do not trust.
In a society that restricts individual freedoms and violates human rights, anything that calls itself creative or independent is a pretence. It is impossible for a totalitarian society to create anything with passion and imagination.
Politics is like air and water. And you know if there is bad politics. Everyone is polluted. Everyone is unhealthy. See the people walking on the street: how they act...
My work is always a ready-made... cultural, political, or social, and also it could be art - to make people re-look at what we have done, its original position, to create new possibilities.
I'm a free man now, except I cannot leave China. You know, I have no desire to travel. I have so many things to do; I cannot finish them now.