Say what you say plainly, and then take responsibility for it.
AI WEIWEISay what you say plainly, and then take responsibility for it.
AI WEIWEIMaybe [success] is because I’m in China and I’m more open. Maybe it’s my independent behavior, or because I participated in certain projects. I have no idea.
AI WEIWEIThe deadly weapon against totalitarian society is openness – doing everything very openly on the Internet, letting people know every detail, any little development. Once it is out there, everybody can make their own judgement.
AI WEIWEIIf a nation cannot face its past, it has no future.
AI WEIWEIHow to become a really modern society when today we are so – as a human being, we feel so powerful. We have high technology and a superb way of controlling our life. And at the same time, in many ways we are so primitive.
AI WEIWEII’m an artist who is always looking for what is possible. I’m always looking to extend the boundaries.
AI WEIWEII think by shattering it we can create a new form, a new way to look at what is valuable – how we decide what is valuable.
AI WEIWEIOverturning police cars is a super-intense workout. It’s probably the only sport I enjoy.
AI WEIWEIFreedom of expression is a very essential condition for me to make any art. Also, it is an essential value for my life. I have to protect this right and also to fight for the possibility.
AI WEIWEIA 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.
AI WEIWEIEverything is art. Everything is politics.
AI WEIWEIWhenever there is injustice, there is tension. But in China it is very hard to release your anger unless you burn yourself or you jump from a bridge. In a society where there is no freedom of the press, it is difficult for victims to be noticed.
AI WEIWEIEverything is selected by the central government without good judgment or an understanding of culture to make it really safe. They will become nobody to maintain their power and be raised to the next higher level.
AI WEIWEIChoices after waking up: To be true or to lie? To take action or be brainwashed? To be free or be jailed?
AI WEIWEIIf we all say the same thing, then I think the government has to listen. But because no one is saying it, I become singled out, even though what I’m saying is common sense.
AI WEIWEIMy 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.
AI WEIWEI