Art and Culture
Italy
Ai Wei Wei
by Ylenia, Giulia and Asia
Bang
Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary
artist, active in sculpture, installation,
architecture, curating, photography, film,
and social, political and cultural criticism.
Ai collaborated with Swiss architects as
the artistic consultant on the Beijing
National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics.
As a political activist, he has been highly
and openly critical of the Chinese
Government’s stance on democracy and
human rights. He has investigated
government corruption and cover-ups. In
2011, following his arrest at Beijing
Capital International Airport on 3 April, he
was held for 81 days without any official
charges being filed; officials alluded to
their allegations of “economic crimes”.
On the occasion of the 55th International
Art Exhibition — Venice Biennale, German
n a t i o n a l p a v i l i o n c u ra t o r S u s a n n e
Gaensheimer, departing from a reflection
on how the production of art in Germany
today is defined by various forms of
collaboration between artists from all over
the world, and by an intellectual and
cultural climate that is profoundly
international, the curator proposes that
the nationally defined format be treated
as an open concept. This way, Germany
can be understood as an active
participant in a complex, worldwide
network.
With this in mind, Gaensheimer invited
Romuald Karmakar, Santu Mofokeng,
Dayanita Singh and Ai Weiwei— four
international artists from four different
countries — to participate in the German
pavilion.