Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei says he'll withdraw his works from two museums in Denmark to protest against a new immigration law. The controversial bill allows authorities to seize valuables from migrants.
Image: DW/Shitao Li
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Outspoken artist Ai Weiwei announced his decision via social media, saying his works would no longer feature in exhibitions at the Aros museum in Aarhus and the Faurschou Foundation in Copenhagen.
Ai, who resides in Berlin, told Associated Press he was "angry and surprised" to hear about the law, which demands migrants hand over valuables worth more than 10,000 kroner ($1,500; 1,380 euros) to cover their expenses while their claims are processed.
"Basically it's an insult to human dignity to have that kind of policy," he said.
The Danish Parliament on Tuesday approved the controversial proposal, which human rights organizations have described as degrading and inhumane. The legislation also extends the period family members must wait before they can join a refugee in Denmark from one year to three years.
Ai is currently working on the Greek island of Lesbos, where he has set up a studio to document the migrant crisis. Many refugees arrive on the island on their way across the Aegean to mainland Europe.
"They are shaking, they are wet and they are just trying to escape from war," Ai told Associated Press by phone. "But they don't have to be penniless. They are not beggars. This is about their dignity."
Ai's exhibits in Denmark include the installation Yu Yi, 2015, which is part of the exhibition A New Dynasty - Created in China at the Aros Aarhus Art Museum. Ai's work was also part of an exhibition titled "Ruptures" at the capital's Faurschou Foundation.
Ai said he had contacted both museums to explain his decision. Erlend Hoeyersten, the director of the Aros museum, said in a statement that while he has "great respect" for Ai’s criticism of the Danish law, "[he] also [finds] it unreasonable that an entire people is punished for the government's policies."
Ai, whose work is often critical of Chinese authorities, said he wasn't trying to punish anyone.
"As an artist this is the only thing I can do," he said. "If he feels punished that's too bad."
nm/jr (AP, dpa)
If you're interested in Ai Weiwei's art, you can take a look at some of his international exhibits in this picture gallery from October 2015.
Ai Weiwei's art in pictures
Artist Ai Weiwei's fall 2017 show in New York City focuses on one of the Chinese artist's central themes: what it means to be a refugee. But he's always been tackling sensitive issues. Here are some of his works.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Rain
'Good Fences Make Good Neighbors'
Ai Weiwei knows what it means to be a refugee. He was persecuted in his homeland China. His fall 2017 show in New York deals with the global refugee crisis through artwork distributed over the city's five boroughs. One of the largest of his installations, entitled "Gilded Cage," is located on the edge of Central Park (above). It invites viewers to enter and exit it by passing through turnstiles.
Image: picture-alliance/newscom/J. Angelillo
Focusing on refugees
His largest work to date, "Law of the Journey," is a 70-meter-long inflatable boat with 258 faceless refugee figures that was shown in Prague. Ever since he moved to Berlin in 2015, Ai Weiwei has worked on numerous projects related to the plight of refugees, often meeting them personally. His documentary "Human Flow" was up for the Golden Lion Best Film award at the 2017 Venice Film Festival.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/R.Vondrous
Art or self-representation?
In late 2015 the image of 3-year-old Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi washed up lifeless on a beach made headlines around the world. In January 2016, Indian news magazine India Today published the above image of Ai Weiwei on the Greek island of Lesbos. While some praised the image as artistic activism, not everyone found the visual protest against European refugee politics ethically acceptable.
The exhibition "Luther and the avant-garde" features contemporary art. According to the 16th century religious reformer himself, images are neither good nor bad; they can inspire belief and prompt contemplation of God. Martin Luther's perspective on artistic freedom paved the way for modern art. Above, Ai Weiwei displays his take on individuality, religion and resistance in the exhibition.
Image: Daniel Biskup
Political art with Legos
In 2015, Lego refused to deliver Ai Weiwei a bulk order of the toys on political grounds. Supporters around the world sent millions of pieces in protest. Ai had already used Legos for a work of art on freedom of expression, shown in the abandoned prison of Alcatraz. It featured over 175 portraits of political activists and prisoners of conscience, such as Edward Snowden and Nelson Mandela.
Image: Getty Images/J. Sullivan
'Berlin, I Love You'
During the 2015 Berlinale film festival, Ai Weiwei directed a movie which depicts his long-distance relationship with his six-year-old son, Ai Lao, who lives with his mother in Berlin. He delivered his instructions for the short film using satellites and via Skype, a logistical tour de force.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/L. Schulze
First-ever solo exhibition in China
Ai Weiwei was allowed to hold a solo exhibition in Beijing in June 2015: This was seen as a sign that the government was easing on his case. Although he avoided direct political works in the show, the authorities pushed back its opening date by a week, as they did not want it to be accessible to the public before June 4 — the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
Sunflower seeds
This is part of another famous work which counts millions of pieces. These sunflower seeds are deceptively realistic, yet they were all handcrafted in porcelain by hundreds of artisans. The installation comments on the current "Made in China" economy and also refers to Mao Zedong’s brutal Cultural Revolution (1966—76), where sunflowers were typically used in propaganda images.
Image: L. Gene/AFP/Getty Images
Sign of the zodiac
There are different versions of this installation, "Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads," which features 12 animal heads reproducing the traditional Chinese zodiac once part of a fountain clock at the Old Summer Palace in Beijing. The sculptures were looted after French and British troops destroyed the imperial retreat in 1850. In June 2015, a bronze version of the work was sold for 3.4 million pounds.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Arrizabalaga
Preserving tradition
In 2014, Ai Weiwei held a huge solo exhibition in Berlin, which he also managed without leaving China. These 6,000 wooden stools filling the atrium of the Martin-Gropius Bau museum, collected throughout the countryside of his Homeland, did make the trip. Wooden stools have been used for centuries in households, and the artist sees them as a symbol of the disappearing traditions of rural China.
Image: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images
From two wheels to four
Private car ownership is growing exponentially in China, while the bike fleet is declining. Cyclists are being blamed for causing accidents and congestion. This work is made of 150 bicycles and also commemorates Yang Jia, a Beijing resident arrested for riding an unlicensed bicycle. During his detention he was assaulted and accused of murdering six police officers, leading him to a death sentence.
Image: Getty Images
Artist with gas mask
Ai Weiwei constantly posts pictures of himself on the Internet, such as this one. Air pollution is a major source of protest in China. Social media has become an integral part of the artist's work, allowing him to reach a very wide audience and establish his reputation as a dissident — inspiring many others. He was the recipient of Amnesty International's 2015 Ambassador of Conscience Award.
