Ai Weiwei Quotes
- All Quotes
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The language of communication will always need to be renewed.
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They tell us it will be about 'emotions' and 'friendship,' that it will be a night of joy. Who are they kidding?
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China has not established the rule of law and thus there is no justice.
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I think restrictions are an essential condition in the fight for freedom of expression. It’s also a source for any kind of creativity.
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I cannot ever accept the kind of conditions where you can sacrifice someone’s rights.
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Police in China can do whatever they want; after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don’t have to obey their own laws.
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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.
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Cover-ups and deception are the nature of this society. Without lies it won’t exist.
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It is absurd that so much money has been wasted on manipulating public opinion, on simulating emotion. This nation is notorious for its ability to make or fake anything cheaply. 'Made-in-China' goods now fill homes around the world. But our giant country has a small problem. We can’t manufacture the happiness of our people.
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I am very much interested in the so-called useless object. I mean, it takes perfect craftsmanship, beautiful material carefully measured and crafted, but at the same time it’s really useless.
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The disaster-makers always get away, while the innocent are always punished.
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The world is a sphere, there is no East or West.
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Living in a system under the Communist ideology, an artist cannot avoid fighting for freedom of expression. You always have to be aware that art is not only a self-expression but a demonstration of human rights and dignity. To express yourself freely, a right as personal as it is, has always been difficult, given the political situation.
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Neither fairness nor justice, neither reality nor humanity can be simulated or manipulated by wires or remote controls.
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Only with the Internet can a peasant I have never met hear my voice and I can learn what’s on his mind. A fairy tale has come true.
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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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Being an artist is more of a mindset, a way of seeing things; it is no longer so much about producing something.
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'Why are you so concerned about society?' That is always the question. And my answer is simple: 'Because you are an artist, you have to associate yourself with freedom of expression.'
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This simple form of repression, of using the method of not letting anyone speak, will never succeed.
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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.
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I think China is in a chaos now and it could be more chaos. It’s an orderly chaos. It’s a party that ruthlessly violates every human’s basic rights to serve its own purpose.'
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Life is never guaranteed to be safe, so we better use it while we are still in good condition.
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I have no sense of why I lost my freedom and if you do not know how you lost something, how can you protect it?'
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Antiques exist as evidence of the cultural tracks we made in the past.