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After I came back [to China], there was still a long period of time when I felt I had nothing to do.

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
Stills
Still
Back
Nothing
Period
Long
China
Time
Periods
Came
Felt

More quotes by Ai Weiwei

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I curated this show [Shanghai Biennale ], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial.
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It [success] is really by mistake.
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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. It's very essential values that we all have to protect. But in Chinese society, people are giving up on protecting these values.
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I don't think I was very structured in that society and I don't really believe in personal success, which most Americans believe in.
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New York has given me a lot, but I still don't consider it home.
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China has not established the rule of law and if there is a power above the law there is no social justice. Everybody can be subjected to harm. I'm just a citizen: my life is equal in value to any other. But I'm thankful that when I lost my freedom so many people shared feelings and put such touching effort into helping me.
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That's why I always question this sense. The feeling of home really requires a lot of trust. It requires you to identify with it, which I always find myself very contradictory to.
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Freedom 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.
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I never had secure, belonging feelings with this society [in China].
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In China, we don't have any contemporary art museums. Until a few years ago, we didn't even have a gallery.
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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. That's why the country can't face up to open competition - unless it resorts to measures like North Korea.
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We move so fast that memory is something we can only grasp
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Twitter is the people’s tool, the tool of the ordinary people, people who have no other resources.
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China has a rich history that has spanned millennia. It consists of the histories of many nations and regions.
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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.
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The art always wins. Anything can happen to me, but the art will stay.
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If Shakespeare were alive today, he might be writing on Twitter.
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There are no outdoor sports as graceful as throwing stones at a dictatorship.
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