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  • Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei

born 1957

Tree 2010
© Ai Weiwei
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Biography

Ai Weiwei (Chinese: 艾未未; pinyin: Ài Wèiwèi, English pronunciation: (help·info); born 28 August 1957) is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist. Ai grew up in the far northwest of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been openly critical of the Chinese Government's stance on democracy and human rights. He investigated government corruption and cover-ups, in particular the Sichuan schools corruption scandal following the collapse of "tofu-dreg schools" in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. In 2011, Ai Weiwei was arrested at Beijing Capital International Airport on 3 April, for "economic crimes". He was detained for 81 days without charge. Ai Weiwei emerged as a vital instigator in Chinese cultural development, an architect of Chinese modernism, and one of the nation's most vocal political commentators.

Ai Weiwei encapsulates political conviction and his personal poetry in his many sculptures, photographs, and public works. In doing this, he makes use of Chinese art forms to display Chinese political and social issues.

After being allowed to leave China in 2015, he has lived in Berlin, Germany, in Cambridge, UK, with his family, and in Portugal.

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Stars group Conceptual art

Artworks

  • Ai Weiwei Table and Pillar

    2002
  • Ai Weiwei Sunflower Seeds

    2010
  • Ai Weiwei Tree

    2010

Film and audio

  • TateShots

    Ai Weiwei on New York City

  • TateShots

    Ai Weiwei, a One-to-One

  • TateShots

    Ai Weiwei, Sunflower seeds

  • TateShots

    Ai Weiwei and Anish Kapoor: The Walk

Features

  • Tate Etc

    Opinion: Art and Democracy

    John-Paul Stonard

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