“I was in the most restricted prison in China, the most tough. The design of the prison is modeled for internal crimes of the Communist party, so it's like a mafia family's law. It's independent to the law this nation openly applies. It's the place they take you before they give you over to the judicial system. You stay there for a year or two and they make you really suffer to confess everything.” GivingYearsTwoLawSufferingNationsPartyCrimeDesignToughIndependentPrisonChinaInternalsCommunistMafiaJudicialCommunist PartyJudicial System Author:Ai Weiwei
“Many people I know - writers, poets - they have all been sentenced not once but sometimes three times after they come out. They serve five or six years, come out another time, and then nine years. Come out again, 12 years. Only because they have a different opinion. They are innocent people, they have beautiful minds, beautiful hearts.” PeopleKnowsYearsMindHeartDifferentSometimesBeautifulThreeOpinionFivePoetSixNineInnocentThree TimesNine YearsAnother TimeBeautiful HeartDifferent OpinionsBeautiful Mind Author:Ai Weiwei
“The museums used to be exhibition halls for government propaganda, and now every city wants to build a museum. A few thousand are to be built in the next few years, all using taxpayer money. But there is no system, no research, no content, no good programs, no good managers.” WantYearsGovernmentUsedNextCitiesThousandResearchBuiltProgramUsed To BeManagersPropagandaGood ManHallsMuseumsTaxpayersExhibitionsGood Manager Author:Ai Weiwei
“When I first got into the first-year study after the Cultural Revolution, got into the same school with this group, I wasn't conscious of the so-called "Fifth Generation." I didn't like that kind of study condition because there's no real, true education there.” YearsFirstsKindRealSchoolStudyGenerationsGroupsConditionsRevolutionConsciousFifthTrue EducationReal True Author:Ai Weiwei
“I was an illegal alien for many, many years. I couldn't move. If I moved I could not even get a visa back.” IfsYearsMovingMovedAliensIllegalVisaIllegal Aliens Author:Ai Weiwei
“I'm doing quite a few things now. In one day, I will go to Kassel, Germany, for a documentary project I've been preparing for half a year. 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. I'm just bringing them to Kassel to see the art show, and pay their room and board.” YearsArtShowsRoomsPayHalfOne DayProjectsChineseBoardsGermanyPreparingDocumentariesBlogsEighteenArtworkPassportsHalf A YearEighteen Years Old Author:Ai Weiwei
“The society was so different [in China] - it was a feudalistic society. It didn't come to a point of industrial revolution until twenty years ago.” YearsDifferentRevolutionYears AgoTwentiesChinaIndustrial Revolution Author:Ai Weiwei
“The [China] government has improved in the last years. Of course, the structure is still the same; there's still a one-party system and strong censorship.” YearsStillsGovernmentLastsCoursesStrongPartyStructureChinaCensorshipLast Year Author:Ai Weiwei
“At the moment about 350,000 students return to China from abroad each year - 350,000 young and educated people. I know about them because they know me and often ask me in the street if they can take a selfie with me. These folks are creative and ironic, and the government can ultimately not control what is going on in their heads.” PeopleIfsKnowsYearsMomentsGovernmentYoungAsksCreativeStreetsStudentsReturnFolksChinaEducatedAsk MeIronicKnow Me Author:Ai Weiwei
“Even if there have been setbacks during these past years, China is changing. China's society is opening.” IfsYearsHas BeensPastChinaOpeningSetback Author:Ai Weiwei
“The leadership knows that you cannot solve the issues of China's future with the means of the past. The demographic consequences of the one-child policy, the build-up of the welfare state, the jobs for 7 million university graduates every year, the immense corruption: Even some Western governments would have to scramble to find solutions to such problems.” KnowsYearsMeanChildrenStatesProblemGovernmentJobsPastMillionsIssuesPolicySolutionsConsequenceWesternUniversityCorruptionChinaSolveWelfareGraduatesImmenseDemographicsWelfare State Author:Ai Weiwei
“In China, we don't have any contemporary art museums. Until a few years ago, we didn't even have a gallery.” YearsArtYears AgoChinaContemporaryMuseumsGalleryContemporary Art Author:Ai Weiwei
“This week, the world gathers in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic games. This is the extraordinary moment China has been dreaming of for 100 years. People have been longing for this moment, because it symbolises a turning point in China's relationship with the outside world.” PeopleWorldYearsHas BeensMomentsDreamGamesWeekLongingExtraordinaryChinaOutside WorldTurning PointsOlympic GamesBeijingExtraordinary Moments Author:Ai Weiwei
“Widespread state control over art and culture has left no room for freedom of expression in the country. For more than 60 years, anyone with a dissenting opinion has been suppressed. Chinese art is merely a product: it avoids any meaningful engagement. There is no larger context. Its only purpose is to charm viewers with its ambiguity.” YearsHas BeensArtCountryStatesPurposeCultureLeftRoomsOpinionExpressionProductsArt IsMeaningfulChineseCharmEngagementViewersAmbiguityFreedom Of ExpressionArt And CultureChinese Art Author:Ai Weiwei
