The whole Chinese system – not just the political leadership, the military too, the whole power structure, our education system, the whole of society – is suffering from being cut off from the free flow of information.
The misconception of totalitarianism is that freedom can be imprisoned. This is not the case. When you constrain freedom, freedom will take flight and land on a windowsill.
The only way to avoid misunderstanding, war and bloodshed is to defend freedom of expression and to communicate with sincerity, concern and good intentions.
My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression, a new way of communication. It is never about exhibiting in museums or about hanging it on the wall.
It’s like the mountains, the ocean and the rivers. It has its own geological forms. Societies cannot be flat. But during change, human rights, human dignity and free speech have to be protected. Otherwise, we’ll be going backward.
![Ai Weiwei Quote - A lot of the time [in the U.S.], I was thinking about how spending time is always questionable or is always the biggest obstacle in my life.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/a-lot-of-the-time-in-the-u-s-i-was-thinking-about--683x1024.jpg)
![Ai Weiwei Quote - It [success] is really by mistake.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/it-success-is-really-by-mistake-683x1024.jpg)
![Ai Weiwei Quote - [Cultural departments] don’t care about culture. Maybe they’re the furthest from the people who understand culture.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/cultural-departments-dont-care-about-culture-maybe-683x1024.jpg)
