If a nation cannot face its past, it has no future.
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.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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I never had secure, belonging feelings with this society [in China].
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We grew up in a very material-lacking socialist society, but today China is a capitalist society. It’s very materialistic. It’s full of desire and luxury goods.
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I was an illegal alien for many, many years. I couldn’t move. If I moved I could not even get a visa back.
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Creativity is the power to act.
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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.
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When you have strict censorship of the internet, young students cannot receive a full education. Their view of the world is imbalanced. There can be no true discussion of the issues.
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Each year, more people want to become artists.
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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.
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As a person, I was born to give out my opinions. By giving out my opinions, I realize who I am.
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Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one.
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We have to give our opinion, we have to say something, or we are a part of it. As an artist I am forced to say something.
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I don’t think there is a distinct change, because in the West I’m not a person who can serve his purpose.
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In this kind of dictatorship, in this kind of totalitarian society, it is easy to make deals that you cannot make in a democratic society.
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People who can’t do that don’t get a sense of responsibility. And if you lack a sense of responsibility, you push the blame onto the system.
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If 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.
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