Since the Villager profiled Ai Weiwei a few issues back, the work of the world-renowned Chinese artist seems to be popping up everywhere.
Weiwei’s Sunflower Seeds exhibit, which just ended its seven-month run in London’s Tate Modern museum, received international acclaim and performed strongly in the art auction market where a 220 pound bag of seeds sold for over $550,000—four times what was expected.
His new touring exhibit, Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads, a display of twelve bronze sculptures depicting the head of each Chinese zodiac animal, just opened in New York City and will continue on to London, Los Angeles, Houston, Pittsburgh and Washington D.C.
Weiwei was included in Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People list, labeled a “visionary” who has “drawn the world’s attention to the vibrancy of contemporary Chinese culture.”
Marble Chairs; one of Weiwei's works.
Locally, one of Weiwei’s latest works, “Marble Chair”, a Ming dynasty-influenced chair carved from a single block of marble, was selected for inclusion in the collection of San Diego’s Museum of Contemporary Art.
His recent rise in notoriety, however, has resulted in a tragic turn for Weiwei. An outspoken critic of the Chinese government, Weiwei was detained after landing in Beijing about a month ago. He has not been heard from since, supposedly under investigation for “economic crimes”.
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Ai Weiwei stands next to his latest exhibit, Zodiac Heads.
Time magazine says, “It is very sad that the Chinese government has seen a need to silence one of its most innovative and illustrious citizens.” The dissent of Weiwei has affected friends of his as well, including Chinese rock star Zuoxiao Zuzhou, who was detained after publishing an article titled “Who doesn’t love Ai Weiwei?” in Hong Kong’s Mingpao newspaper.
Zuzhou and Weiwei represent just two out of the dozens who have been detained, arrested or disappeared in recent weeks in what is being called “the most serious drive against activists, dissidents and lawyers in around a decade,” according to The Guardian.
At the unveiling of his new exhibit, a quote by Weiwei was recited, “Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one.” We hope the attempts at silencing outspoken critics like Weiwei and his friends will awaken the world community to the human rights abuses that continue to be committed by the Chinese government.
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