Ai Weiwei: Latest Lego Collection Point Announced For Finland

Ai Weiwei

Artlyst continues to track the progress of the dissident Chinese artist’s recent struggle for artistic freedom of speech over the controls of corporatism, after Ai Weiwei posted on Instagram: “In September Lego refused Ai Weiwei Studio’s request for a bulk order of Legos to create artwork to be shown at the National Gallery of Victoria [Australia] as ‘they cannot approve the use of Legos for political works’.”

Lego’s refusal to supply the artist then triggered a flood of responses on social media criticising the company for “censorship and discrimination” by refusing the artist’s order. Thousands of anonymous supporters have now donated their used Legos to Ai. This occurred after the artist decided to install collection points for donations of Lego, which he will use to make a new work to defend freedom of speech and ‘political art’.

Now a new Lego donation point has been created in the building housing the Ai Weiwei@Helsinki exhibition in the Helsinki Art Museum (HAM), for a public concerned with free speech to donate Lego building blocks that the artist and human rights activist will use in his next artwork.

Artlyst is looking forward to whatever the artist finally creates out of his lego collection; once Ai has received his complete Lego donation of course, prepare yourself for an interesting ‘anti-Lego’ work of art… made out of Lego. Although reportedly, Lego says it cannot participate in political projects.

Artlyst says let’s send Ai Weiwei Some Lego
Join the Facebook Page here
the artist’s studio address is:
FAKE Design: Caochangdi 258, Chaoyang District
100102 Beijing, China

Photo: P A Black © 2015

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