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I have always stated I designed the stadium as a toilet seat. I don't care if this is a great cultural event or a national symbol. It has nothing to do with me. It deals with the city.

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
Great
Cultural
Toilet
Always
National
Toilets
City
Seat
Events
Symbol
Deals
Seats
Cities
Designed
Stadium
Care
Symbols
Stated
Nothing
Event
Stadiums

More quotes by Ai Weiwei

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I don't think my father had a direct influence on me, but I do think, more or less, I was influenced by his independent individualism. And the kind of condition he had when he was in this society - the kind of mistreatment society gave him.
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We are living in a popular culture where everything is overexposed.
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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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There's no single artwork I even want to mention or that I can even really think about it to have any feeling, to be proud of it.
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I spend a lot of time talking to journalists.
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Liberty is about the right to question everything.
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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.
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I think art is a very important weapon to achieve human freedom
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The Internet changes the structure of society all the time — this massiveness made of individuals.
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If human rights are supposed to have any meaning, then they have to be discussed openly.
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My mother became much older when I came out (ed's note: of detention). She had problems with her hearing and high blood pressure. But they still support me.
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In a society that restricts individual freedoms and violates human rights, anything that calls itself creative or independent is a pretence. It is impossible for a totalitarian society to create anything with passion and imagination.
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I came back [to Beijing ] because that's the only time I had an excuse to come back, or otherwise I would never have a reason to come back.
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