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I curated this show [Shanghai Biennale ], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial.

Ai Weiwei

Now I’ve come to such a mixed culture: America, Europe, South America, Africa. And the politics are changing everywhere all the time and becoming even more unpredictable.
AI WEIWEI

Changing Country Culture Politics Problem Unpredictable
I think to deal with the situation like human crisis, 65 million people being displaced, lost their home, and with such human tragedy, has to make every level of society to be conscious and to be alert about the situation.
AI WEIWEI

Crisis Displaced Home Human Lost Million People Situation Strong Thinking Tragedy
Otherwise, I think the building can be bigger, larger, and the city can be much more crazy. The problem is the government structure is so deadly stupid, not really solving problems but creating a lot of problems itself every day.
AI WEIWEI

Bigger Building City Crazy Larger More Much Stupid Thinking
But personally, I don’t think my work and my understanding of art is so much related to being Chinese, but the character of that. Maybe it’s beyond my own consciousness.
AI WEIWEI

Art Beyond Character Consciousness Country Personality Related Think Understanding Work
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.
AI WEIWEI

Country Cutting Educational Leadership Military Political Power Structure
I have to respect my life, and free expression is part of my life. I can never really silence myself.
AI WEIWEI

Expression Free Respect Silence
As long as I can communicate, I’m not so lonely. If I cannot travel, or do art, or have company, if they take away all my belongings, it doesn’t matter at all.
AI WEIWEI

Communicate Dialogue Engage Living Lonely Long Society
There’s no such thing as “fixed” culture. China is also becoming more global. Its problems are becoming international problems, becoming German problems, becoming American problems.
AI WEIWEI

Country Culture Fixed Global International More Problem
I always want people to be confused, to be shocked or realize something later.
AI WEIWEI

Confuse Confused Later People Realize Something Want
[Being unique] gives so much privilege to people who can make it, rather than having some moral and aesthetic discussions.
AI WEIWEI

Aesthetic Discussion Giving Make Moral People Privilege Rather Some Unique
Imagine one day, the hateful world around you collapses. And it is your attitude, words and actions that put an end to it. Will you be excited?
AI WEIWEI

Action Attitude Collapse Day Imagine One Word World
The motivation is really to say people can find the game of getting involved interesting and find the problem and really have the passion and the enthusiasm to solve it and move forward, but that’s all I know.
AI WEIWEI

Forward Game Involved Motivation Moving Passion People
Liberty is about the right to question everything.
AI WEIWEI

Everything Liberty Question Right
I spend a lot of time talking to journalists.
AI WEIWEI

Journalist Lot Spend Talking Time
I was an illegal alien for many, many years. I couldn’t move. If I moved I could not even get a visa back.
AI WEIWEI

Alien Illegal Move Moving Visa Back Year
A nation like China has become one of the biggest production fields for exporting cheap labor, which also re-questions our history and past, re-questions human desire, and the human illusions of the past.
AI WEIWEI

Biggest Cheap Country Desire Exporting Field Labor Past Production
The United States is a melting pot. Like John F. Kennedy said, it’s a nation of immigrants. But Donald Trump wants to build a fence that clearly makes the statement: “You and I are divided.
AI WEIWEI

Different Evolution Immigrant Nation Thinking
I think the government regrets having Sina Weibo, but they cannot shut it down. That would definitely be suicidal.
AI WEIWEI

Act Everyone Government People Pollution Regret Street Unhealthy Walking Weibo
Once you’ve tasted freedom, it stays in your heart and no one can take it. Then, you can be more powerful than a whole country.
AI WEIWEI

Country Freedom Heart More Powerful Take
I think the pearls – one is a necklace, and another you have five hundred pounds of pearls, which may be one million pearls in a bowl – really show a kind of [society] condition.
AI WEIWEI

Another Five Hundred Million Necklace Pearl Pound Thinking
Choices after waking up: To be true or to lie? To take action or be brainwashed? To be free or be jailed?
AI WEIWEI

Brainwashed Choice Free Jailed Lying Wake Walking
Liberty is about our rights to question everything.
AI WEIWEI

About Everything Liberty Question Right
In the end, I think, the state’s rigidity is a function of its own insecurity, its indecisiveness.
AI WEIWEI

End Function Indecisiveness Insecurity Rigidly Thinking
Just look at the statistics: Each university has tens of thousands of applications for students who want to be in art school, but they can only accept a few hundred.
AI WEIWEI

Application Art Look School Statistic Student Ten Thousand
I will bring 1,001 Chinese to participate as my artwork there – any Chinese who is a Chinese passport holder and over eighteen years old could apply through my blog.
AI WEIWEI

Apply Artwork Blog Country Participated Passport
I never had secure, belonging feelings with this society [in China].
AI WEIWEI

China Feelings This Society
If there is no free speech, every single life has lived in vain
AI WEIWEI

Free Life Live Single Speech Vain

I curated this show [Shanghai Biennale ], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial.

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Popular Authors

I curated this show [Shanghai Biennale ], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Ai Weiwei Quotes