Ai Weiwei

Filippo Strozzi in LEGO

Composition with pieces of LEGO, 152 x 152,7 cm

2016 

Incident:

2015. Preparations for the Andy Warhol/ Ai Weiwei exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

In 2015, LEGO refused to sell pieces to the artist for his portraits of dissidents, alleging that it did not want to participate in political initiatives. Ai Weiwei denounced the censorship and appealed to the public for their cooperation, completing his artworks using the thousands of pieces he received. The Chinese artist and activist has experienced censorship in his country, where he was imprisoned for three months.

Biography:

Ai Weiwei (Beijing, 1957) is a dissident Chinese artist and activist persecuted for his art, whose work is of a critical and satirical nature. He has suffered from censorship in China, where, among other incidents, he was imprisoned for three months. His work is exhibited in the world’s best museums. He currently resides in Berlin.