In April, I saw Ai Weiwei’s exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum.
Ai Weiwei uses found objects and unconventional mediums to reject arbitrary value judgments and rebel against unjust power.
The Coca-Cola logo spray-painted onto a Qing dynasty vase really stressed me out, but also made me reflect on the hypocritical context of a government which imposed the Cultural Revolution deeming it as a treasured national artifact.
Value is determined by those in power. Ai uses his art to advocate, inform, and resist.
He crowdsources data from civilians to create exhibitions that expose information manipulation.
For his art, he’s been arrested and watched by the Chinese government.
See also: State surveillance