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I hope that my work expresses my worldview and encourages people to exchange ideas.

Ai Weiwei

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Ai Weiwei
Age: 67
Born: 1957
Born: May 18
Architect
Consultant
Contemporary Artist
Designer
Film Director
Human Rights Activist
Painter
Photographer
Sculptor
Social Activist
Peking
Wei-wei Ai
Weiwei Ai
Ai Wei Wei
Encourages
Expresses
Exchange
Hope
Ideas
Work
People

More quotes by Ai Weiwei

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I think it’s a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression and to use any way to extend this power.
Ai Weiwei
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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
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It's really rubbish that some kind of technical learning means you will be a better person because you know this skill better.
Ai Weiwei
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The IT people who have made such an effort to know and understand computer technology. They are frustrated that you cannot use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in China. They are the first to recognize that the situation is terrible.
Ai Weiwei
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Your own acts tell the world who you are and what kind of society you think it should be.
Ai Weiwei
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Self-censorship is insulting to the self. Timidity is a hopeless way forward.
Ai Weiwei
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It doesn't matter where I am - China will stay in me. I don't know how far I can still walk on this road and what is the limit.
Ai Weiwei
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I think I'm just a traveler. When you walk across a river and there's no bridge, you build one. I'm used to having to deal with Chinese Communist ideology - it's not really an ideology, but a method of control. But China's problems are not just China's problems - they're human problems. Humanity has always worked better when you see it as one.
Ai Weiwei
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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.
Ai Weiwei
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In the '80s, you couldn't walk in the neighborhood without looking back to see if anyone was following you. You had your key in your hand before you got to your apartment and you'd rush in so you didn't have to stop.
Ai Weiwei
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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
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If Shakespeare were alive today, he might be writing on Twitter.
Ai Weiwei
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For me, it is OK as long as I can breathe, as long as my heart is pumping, as long as I can express myself.
Ai Weiwei
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Chinese government is very clearly losing power in every aspect, but trying to fix up all the problems or potential problems.
Ai Weiwei
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As a total activity - I practice curating, art, architecture, writing, and publishing all together. I still act as a living creature.
Ai Weiwei
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The biggest obstacle in interacting with China is the difference in perspectives about basic values. These include issues such as human rights, the concept of law and constitution.
Ai Weiwei
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Warhol came from an ordinary family and he had a profound understanding about capitalism and material culture. He was probably one of the few Western artists - or artists from the United States - that could be considered a true product of his time and brought out that kind of spirit of the culture.
Ai Weiwei
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The demand for individual freedom leads us to different realms, and it enables us to participate in social events.
Ai Weiwei
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[Cultural departments] don't care about culture. Maybe they're the furthest from the people who understand culture.
Ai Weiwei
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As a human being, member of society, you must clearly state your mind. It's a responsibility. It is the way you identify yourself otherwise you don't know who you are and why you are here.
Ai Weiwei