Ai Weiwei in Prague; 'Be Yourself, Outside the System'

Calm and composed... neither the crowded hall, nor the continuous praises and cheers excite him. Even when he warns Europe morally, he remains just as calm, perhaps even bored. The presence of 'Ai Weiwei', the Chinese dissident artist, in Prague coincides with the refugee crisis in Europe, and the Czech Republic, which has adopted some of the most extreme policies against refugees, including their long-term detention, confiscation of money they bring, establishment of camps described as 'worse than prisons', and opposition to the distribution of refugees among European countries. Now, 'Ai Weiwei' is sitting among hundreds of Czech students and intellectuals, criticizing the Czech government and opponents of refugees: 'I know the Czech Republic for its strong intellectual history and its brilliant history in defending human rights, but this situation has ruined all my perceptions of the Czech Republic...' On the evening of Friday, February 5 (16 Bahman), the hall at the Faculty of Philosophy of Charles University, hosting Ai Weiwei, is filled with people, an occurrence that seems quite unusual here, to the point that the head of the Václav Havel Library, one of the organizers of the event, mentions that the last time this hall was full was in 1964 when the famous Beat Generation poet Allen Ginsberg visited. The program takes the form of a Q&A session, where Ai Weiwei is to answer questions for about an hour and a half, mostly about human rights and freedom of expression conditions in China rather than art, even if the first sentence he states in introducing himself is: 'I am an artist...' The truth is that Ai Weiwei's art is intertwined with politics, even if many of his installations, sculptures, and photographs may seem unrelated to political subjects. However, the confrontation and clash that Ai Weiwei has had with the totalitarian regime of China for many years has made him a rebellious figure, as one of his most famous quotes states: 'Be yourself, outside the system, and of course, this carries a lot of risks, but for someone who makes such a choice, it is meaningful.' The twelve sculptures that have brought Ai Weiwei to Prague today are not devoid of politics and political history; the exhibition 'Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads', which opens on Saturday, February 6 (17 Bahman) in the open space in front of the Museum of Contemporary and Modern Art in Prague, has a critical nature that targets both the cultural policies of the Chinese government and the colonial policies of Europe in past centuries, whose impacts still linger. The twelve animal head sculptures, symbolizing the twelve zodiac signs in Chinese astrology, have been touring various cities around the world for about six years, from São Paulo to New York, Toronto, and London, carrying Ai Weiwei's voice of protest to nations. Protest against what? The story has a historical background dating back to 1860 when British and French soldiers, after defeating the Qing Dynasty's forces, advanced to the royal palace of China and looted twelve sculptures that two European Jesuits had gifted to the emperor earlier that century. These sculptures never returned to China; instead, they were sold at exorbitant prices at Western auctions, leading to numerous protests in China. In the meantime, Ai Weiwei has taken an initiative by creating sculptures resembling the original sculptures and exhibiting them globally, far beyond the Chinese government and institutions that should be responsible for China's cultural heritage. Ai Weiwei essentially considers indifference to culture as inherent to the Chinese governmental system and states: 'They really do not care about culture. The nature of communism is to destroy the old world and build a new one... They have no idea about the importance of traditional and classical art, and the 'Circle of Animals' sculptures are a very good example that shows their ignorance in this regard.' Among his audience in Prague, he first emphasizes the protest aspect of his art when he introduces himself and his art by saying: 'I am an artist... but Ai Weiwei as an artist is not that important in society unless his art raises questions. I have grown up in a highly political environment. Perhaps that is why my artworks are concerned with fundamental human values and are so sensitive in defending values like freedom of expression and individualism.' Thus, the Q&A session with Ai Weiwei finds its direction and quickly shifts to the topic of refugees, a subject that had been prepared in advance with the idea of covering the sculptures with golden cloaks, similar to the cloaks worn by survivors from the sea. For what kind of society are we speaking? Ai Weiwei's sculptures are covered with a golden cloak until the official opening moment of the exhibition when the animal heads emerge from behind the wrappers. The point is that the golden cloaks were not part of previous exhibitions of these works in other cities, but with Ai Weiwei's arrival in Prague, these cloaks also arrived and concealed the sculptures. What is the story, Mr. Ai? 'The night I was heading to Prague, I decided to make a change in the work. As an artist, I will never be satisfied with my works unless they are constantly evolving and changing in connection with the feelings and understanding I have of the world. Therefore, what I did was a kind of effort to understand art and the relationship of art with my works, and this understanding cannot be achieved unless we recognize the political conditions of our time and know what kind of society we are talking about. I decided that before the public display of the sculptures, to cover them with cloaks that have a golden exterior and an aluminum-colored interior. I got the idea for the cloaks from observing images of refugees arriving at the shore by boat, women who are pregnant or have come with their children, all wet and scared... When they reach the shore, they are covered with these cloaks to warm up. These cloaks cost no more than 75 cents, but they are designed in a way that prevents their body heat from escaping. I found this very beautiful and wanted to do the same with my sculptures.' Humanity that is lost. However, beauty was not the only motivation that drove Ai Weiwei to action; the rebellious artist uses this image, this idea, to provide a basis for conceptualization and criticism: 'By covering these sculptures, I expressed my protest. What am I protesting against? I protest against the humanity that is lost. Deep down, I am protesting against the conditions of refugees in Europe. I protest that European societies do not take these refugees into account. These refugees come to a land where they think they will be safe, but most of the time they fall into very harsh conditions. Such behavior from Europeans truly surprises me. I think now it is our turn to show our commitment to the values we have benefited from and built our societies upon. But I see that for a thousand excuses and due to shortsighted political games, we behave in direct opposition to these values. To me, the issue here is not a matter of choice; rather, we must know that helping any refugee is a duty.' I have faced everything I feared. Ai Weiwei continues to speak about values based on human rights and emphasizes his sensitivity in this regard. One of the attendees asks about the relationship between individual and social freedom with creativity, to which Ai Weiwei responds that he does not believe that creative work can be done in conditions of absolute freedom. He then explains that 'creativity is the understanding of limitations and finding ways to overcome them.' Now it is my turn to ask him. I say that usually when an Eastern artist and writer from a repressive society enters a free Western society, much of their appeal comes from the fact that they are a political subject or a political victim, and do you not fear that your art will be reduced in this way and only its political aspects will be highlighted? I receive the answer: 'Well, it's a tough position. A few years ago, one of my friends told me that Weiwei, if you write too much on your blog, they will call you an activist. At that moment, I thought, yes, this will be a big problem, but this issue eventually happened. Honestly, in my life, everything I have feared has happened, and whenever I have tried to prevent something, that thing has happened. Now we have to see what the outcome will be.' Finally... the session is coming to an end, and the last question must be asked. A young woman from the audience takes the microphone: 'My question is about your art.' Ai Weiwei: 'Finally...' Laughter from the audience and applause... and a reminder from the session moderator at the end that Ai Weiwei's art is great and commendable in itself and should not and cannot be limited to politics in all questions and analyses related to it.