(3 Apr 2014) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 938282
VOICE OVER SCRIPT:
(VOICE OVER)
A NEW EXHIBITION OF WORK BY THE CHINESE CONCEPTUAL ARTIST AI WEI WEI OPENS THIS WEEK IN BERLIN.
AND, ONCE AGAIN, THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT IS REFUSING TO ALLOW THE ARTIST TO ATTEND.
(SOUNDBITE: Gerenon Sievernich, Exhibition Curator:)
"He cannot leave China. He has no passport. The government does not give him his passport back. So, all the work done here has been done from his studio. He has a team of 20 people and it was a perfect collaboration. Of course, we used internet and all these tools we have now days. And, it was fantastic to cooperate with him."
MUCH OF AI WEI WEI'S ART DRAWS HEAVILY ON THE ARTIST'S TROUBLES WITH CHINESE AUTHORITIES.
AND, THIS LATEST EXHIBITION IS NO EXCEPTION WITH THE TITLE: "EVIDENCE."
FOR EXAMPLE, TAKE THESE TWISTED FORMS OF REBAR.
THESE METAL RODS WERE USED IN CONSTRUCTION OF SCHOOLS DESTROYED BY THE CHENGDU EARTHQUAKE SIX YEARS AGO.
FAULTY CONSTRUCTION MEANT THAT THE SCHOOL BUILDINGS COLLAPSED, TRAPPING THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS IN THE RUBLE.
(SOUNDBITE: Gerenon Sievernich, Exhibition Curator)
"If you look at some pieces of his art you will find a message, which you have to decode, to decipher. And, of course, it is very political because he is speaking about what is going on in China, he is speaking about what happened to him personally."
(VOICE OVER)
THE BERLIN SHOW ALSO INCLUDES THE WORK TITLED "81" - TO RECOGNIZE THE 81 DAYS HE SPENT IN A CHINESE JAIL FOLLOWING HIS ARREST IN 2011.
THE REPLICA OF THE CELL INCLUDES SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS WATCHING 24 HOURS A DAY.
ALSO IN THE EXHIBITION IS "HAN DYNASTY VASES WITH AUTO PAINT" - TWO THOUSAND YEAR OLD VASES COVERED WITH MODERN CAR PAINT USED BY BMW AND MERCEDES BENZ.
THE ANCIENT VASES LOOK NEW, SMOOTH AND SHINY, BUT UNDER THE THIN LAYER OF PAINT REMAIN THE ORIGINAL HISTORICAL ARTIFACTS.
THE EXHIBITION NEXT TRAVELS TO NEW YORK CITY IN THE FALL,
AI WEI WEI IS NOT EXPECTED TO ATTEND.
TOM RITCHIE, ASSOCIATED PRESS.
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