Current location:style >>
Ai Weiwei mourns Hong Kong freedoms but is 'proud' of Tiananmen middle
style38446People have gathered around
Introductionby Jerome TaylorWhen dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei secretly snapped a picture of himself showin ...
by Jerome Taylor
When dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei secretly snapped a picture of himself showing a middle finger in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, he knew it was provocative.
But he never thought that picture would be at the heart of rising censorship fears in Hong Kong 26 years later.
“Any sign of freedom of speech, any sign of free expression can be… declared unlawful or subversive to state power,” Ai told AFP by phone.
“That law was applied in mainland China but it is also being applied in Hong Kong, there’s no question,” the 63-year-old added.
‘Fast changing world’
For Hong Kong’s art community, all eyes are currently focused on the M+ Museum.
Subscribe to HKFP's twice-weekly newsletter for a concise round-up of local news and our best coverage. Unsubscribe at any time - we will not pass on your data to third parties.
Processing… Success! You're on the list. Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.A 60,000 square-metre venue set to open later this year, it boasts perhaps the finest collection of contemporary Chinese art in the world thanks in part to a massive donation by Swiss collector Uli Sigg.
The museum’s online catalogue lists 249 works by Ai Weiwei alone. It also has photographs by Liu Heung-shing of Beijing’s deadly 1989 crackdown in Tiananmen, an event scrubbed by censors on the mainland.
But there are question marks over whether it can display its more provocative pieces given the precarious new legal and political atmosphere in Hong Kong.
Pro-Beijing politicians there have already accused the museum of breaking the new security law and “spreading hatred against the country” with their collection, singling out Ai’s Tiananmen picture.
On Monday, a government official confirmed Ai’s photo would not be displayed when the museum opens and he said he would welcome national security police to vet its collection for any possible breaches.
Ai described the curators behind M+ as “very professional” people with “creative integrity” who are dealing with “an extremely fast-changing world”.
But he said he now wonders whether any of his work will be displayed, including two large installations that are meant to be included in the opening.
“Hong Kong’s more liberal, more democratic society, is disappearing,” he lamented.
‘Proud’
Ai was once feted by Chinese authorities and helped design Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium.
But he found himself on the receiving end of the state’s wrath, especially when he criticised authorities over their handling of 2008 Sichuan earthquake, in which more than 87,000 people died.
He was detained for 81 days in 2011 and eventually left for Germany four years later.
The fact that his photo in Tiananmen Square is triggering Chinese authorities once more is something he welcomes.
“I cannot refuse that feeling of being proud,” he mused.
Ai took the picture back in 1995 and it kicked off a series now known as “Studies in Perspective”.
Wherever Ai went in the world he would take a similar photograph with a middle finger extended, usually towards something politically powerful or culturally important.
He has done it in more than 100 locations, including outside the White House, Germany’s Reichstag and Russia’s Kremlin.
The fact that Chinese authorities remain so outraged by his Tiananmen gesture is, he says, exactly the point.
“An individual’s little gesture can become a state matter and can really shake the foundations of authoritarianism,” he said.
Ai was critical of western museums doing deals on the mainland.
He singled out recent collaborations by France’s Centre Pompidou and Britain’s Tate Modern.
“So many cultural institutions rush to China but do they care about the most important meaning in art which is freedom of expression?” he said.
“Are they going to stay silent seeing professional museums like M+ under unthinkable pressure from the same government they are trying to please,” he added.
“Can they show their middle finger?”
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“World Wave news portal”。http://britishvirginislands.afischerphasedrives.com/html-09d399958.html
Related articles
Red Lobster seeks bankruptcy protection after closing some restaurants
styleRed Lobster, the casual dining chain that brought seafood to the masses with inventions like popcorn ...
【style】
Read moreFarewell to China's homecoming motorbike fleets
style(Xinhua) 14:30, February 06, 2024GUANGZHOU, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Being just one of a handful of homewa ...
【style】
Read moreGame of lies
styleBy Vitaly Podvitski (Global Times) 09:11, March 09, 2023Game of lies. Illustration: Vitaly Podvitski ...
【style】
Read more
Popular articles
- Insider Q&A: CIA's chief technologist's cautious embrace of generative AI
- Full Text: Report on the Work of the Government
- PLA Day warmly celebrated in Pakistan
- To build even closer relations between China, Central Asian countries
- Philippines blames China for loss of giant clams in disputed shoal and urges environmental inquiry
- Griezmann scores 2 as Atletico Madrid beats Girona 3
Latest articles
Elon Musk gets approval from FDA to implant his Neuralink brain chip into a second patient
Griezmann scores 2 as Atletico Madrid beats Girona 3
Letter from Lhasa: A return after 14 years
U.S. a total hypocrite when it comes to safeguarding cybersecurity
Jon Wysocki dead at 53: Staind drummer passes away
China poised for strong recovery in 2023, says Morgan Stanley economist
LINKS
- Rihanna shows off her bold pink hair as she supports baby daddy A$AP Rocky at Puma pop
- Togo's presidents signs a law expected to extend his decades
- Anne Hathaway and husband Adam Shulman join Kate Hudson at Derek Blasberg's star
- Terrifying moment truck goes off
- Planters nuts recalled across America over potentially fatal contamination
- From Marseille to Mont
- Tom Brady fans in hysterics over Netflix Roast as they hail the quarterback's jokes a 10/10
- OKC's Gilgeous
- No positive progress in Gaza truce talks: Hamas source
- Planters nuts recalled across America over potentially fatal contamination