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Links 🔗
Ai Wei Wei’s Personal Website
Sunflower Seeds – Art Installation at the Tate Modern
This week we shine a spotlight on arguably one of China’s harshest critics, certainly one of the most controversial in the eyes of the Chinese government. An artist and an activist, this week on Pub Convos, we talk about Ai Wei Wei.
Background:
Ai Wei Wei was born on 28th August 1957 in Beijing to Chinese poet Ai Qing. His family was exiled to Xinjiang in 1961 due to his father’s affiliations. This is where Wei Wei spent most of his youth. Wei Wei then moved to the US as one of the first Chinese students who took and passed the TOEFL test after cultural reforms took place after Mao’s death. He studied English at UPenn and later on UC Berkeley. He moved to New York to study art but dropped out. During his time in New York, he befriended renowned beat poet Allen Ginsberg. He returned to China in the 90s and subsequently moved to Europe after his controversial arrest.
Controversies:
Wei Wei was an active blogger, often posting scathing social commentary of China on Sina Weibo (China’s largest blogging site) and subsequently on Twitter. The most famous incident was when Wei Wei launched a citizen’s investigation on poorly constructed schools which collapsed and killed many children after the 2008 Sichuan earthquakes. In 2011, he was arrested for alleged tax fraud. It was reported that during his arrest he was subjected to ill treatment and sparked a wave of support from the west and human rights groups.
Artistic Endeavours:
When he is not busy critiquing things, he is an artist and has made countless documentaries and art installations. He is also involved in architecture, evident with his involvement in the design of the famous Bird’s Nest for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He has also written a couple of books with the latest one being ‘1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows’ where it is a memoir which draws heavily on the parallels of his father’s life with his own. Where both have endured as artist struggling with democracy and freedom of their home country.
Like him or not, Ai Wei Wei is a brilliant artist and separating his art from the artist doesn’t work because so much of his work is based on his experiences.
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