Quote

I'm not nostalgic about the old city. I don't enjoy it that much. It was just a city with one emperor and the rest of them just rats or meaningless people.

Ai Weiwei

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

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
Rest
Cities
Enjoy
Much
Nostalgic
People
Emperor
Rats
Meaningless
City

More quotes by Ai Weiwei

Image
Through my work and ways of expression, I strive to engage in dialogue with the society that I am living in.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I am everywhere and I am nowhere. That's the beauty of the Internet Age.
Ai Weiwei
Image
If civil society has nobody who protects the law, then what kind of society is that?
Ai Weiwei
Image
For artists and intellectuals today, what is most needed is to be clear about social responsibility, because that is what most people automatically give up. Just to protect yourself as an individual is very political. You don't have to march on Tiananmen, but you do have to be clear-minded, to find your own means of expression.
Ai Weiwei
Image
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
Image
China is an old nation with a colourful history. Its booming economy has triggered an appetite and a curiosity around the world for its art and culture, one that continues to grow. I can, however, tell people that it is a show with no actor.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I never think any place is better than others.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I don't like China. Even today, I still feel I have no emotional relations with this place.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I never had a sense of home.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I don’t want the next generation to fight the same fight as I did.
Ai Weiwei
Image
We move so fast that memory is something we can only grasp
Ai Weiwei
Image
In a society like this there is no negotiation, no discussion, except to tell you that power can crush you any time they want — not only you, your whole family and all people like you.
Ai Weiwei
Image
Expressing oneself is like a drug. I'm so addicted to it.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I loved New York — every inch of it. It was a little bit scary at that time, but still, the excitement was so strong — visually and intellectually. It was like a monster.
Ai Weiwei
Image
A lot of the time [in the U.S.], I was thinking about how spending time is always questionable or is always the biggest obstacle in my life.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I curated this show [Shanghai Biennale ], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I'm most embarrassed at my art shows, even though I don't show it.
Ai Weiwei
Image
My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression, a new way of communication. It is never about exhibiting in museums or about hanging it on the wall.
Ai Weiwei
Image
The rest of the world understands little about China's changes and the possibilities and crises that come with them.
Ai Weiwei
Image
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