Ai Weiwei

"The world is not changing if you don’t shoulder the burden of responsibility."

"The disaster-makers always get away, while the innocent are always punished."

"Once again, the facts have been erased."

"The Sichuan disaster is not the first nor the most wrongful. But all the details of this tragedy will be forgotten, and once again it will be like nothing ever happened. Eventually all these disasters will together create a bizarre miracle called civilization and evolution."

"Cover-ups and deception are the nature of this society. Without lies it won’t exist."

"A society that has no ideals, that discards the principles of humanitarianism, that abandons the fundamental rights and dignity of humanity, can only survive by denying truth, fairness and justice."

"Behind every political deal in this country, the first casualties are always the ordinary people, who are barely treated as human."

"A small act is worth a million thoughts."

"I want people to see their own power."

"My work has always been political, because the choice of being an artist is political in China."

"I think all aesthetic judgments—all the aesthetic choices we are making—are moral choices. They cannot escape the moral dimension in the broader sense. It has to relate to the philosophical understanding of who we are and how so-called “art and culture” functions in today’s world."

"To me, to be political means you associate your work with a larger number of people’s living conditions, and that includes both mental and physical conditions. And you try to use your work to affect the situation."

"To what degree does it help us to change our life, or even to sense our existence, to really evaluate “why?” I think those questions cannot be escaped. Sometimes in history it’s more hidden; somewhere these can be very personal and individual questions. But in certain times and certain places, your existence has to be associated with other people’s situations. You have to make a reaction to the living conditions. It’s not avoidable. You cannot just be blind about what is happening there. Such is the case in China."

"In talking about memory and our history, I think our humanity, especially in China, is cut. Cut, broken, separated. If we have a character from our history and memory, the character is broken, it’s shattered."

"Tradition is only a readymade. It’s for us to make a new gesture—to use it as a reference, more as a starting point than conclusion. Of course, there are very different attitudes and interpretations about our past and our memory of it. And ours is never a complete one, but is broken. In China, but also in my practice."

"I tell people that because you don’t bear any responsibility, you put me in danger. If we all say the same thing, then I think the government has to listen. But because no one is saying it, I become singled out, even though what I’m saying is common sense. It’s very essential values that we all have to protect. But in Chinese society, people are giving up on protecting these values."

"My messages are temporary and shouldn’t be our permanent condition. And like the wind it will pass. We’ll have another wind coming."

"To protect the right of expression is the central part of an artist’s activity. . . . . In China many essential rights are lacking, and I wanted to remind people of this."

"Because of the economic crisis, China and the United States are bound together. This is a totally new phenomenon, and nobody will fight for ideology anymore. It’s all about business."

"Anyone fighting for freedom does not want to totally lose their freedom."

"I think we have too much history. It’s not so important. I think people should have fun and enjoy their own time. I haven’t done much, so why should I waste people’s memory?""

"'Why are you so concerned about society?' That is always the question. And my answer is simple: 'Because you are an artist, you have to associate yourself with freedom of expression.'"

"Antiques exist as evidence of the cultural tracks we made in the past."

"We need to get out of the old language."

"The language of communication will always need to be renewed."

"When I returned to China [from the United States], I didn’t have a U.S. passport, a wife, or a university degree. From the Chinese point of view, I was a total failure."

"I often think what I’m saying is for the people who never had a chance to be heard."

"We have to give our opinion, we have to say something, or we are a part of it. As an artist I am forced to say something."

"A land that rejects the truth, barricades itself against change and lacks the spirit of freedom is hopeless."

"Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one."

"Being an artist is more of a mindset, a way of seeing things; it is no longer so much about producing something."

"In China, there is a long history of the government not revealing information, so it’s difficult for the Chinese people to ever know the truth. It is vital that we try to bring that truth to life."

"What does it matter if China’s economy grows when there are no basic protections for its citizens?"

"When I checked into a hospital [in Germany, after having been beaten by police in Sichuan], I was told there was bleeding in my brain and I was near fatal collapse. I was rushed into surgery. When I awoke I felt like a normal person again. But I will not feel whole until I and my fellow Chinese can live freely."

"From my experience dealing with Sichuan [after the 2008 earthquake] I started to understand very clearly the character of local government. They will do anything. You will never really wrongly accuse them of anything because they do everything."

"The Internet changes the structure of society all the time—this massiveness made of individuals."

"Everything is art. Everything is politics."

"I think my stance and my way of life is my most important art."

"I want to prove that the system is not working. . . . . You can’t simply say that the system is not working. You have to work through it"

"If Shakespeare were alive today, he might be writing on Twitter."

"I wouldn’t say I’ve become more radical: I was born radical."

"I always want to design a frame that’s open to everyone. I don’t see art as a secret code."

"The world is a sphere, there is no East or West."

"Your own acts tell the world who you are and what kind of society you think it should be."

"No outdoor sports can be more elegant than throwing stones at autocracy; no melees can be more exciting than those in cyberspace."

"Not an inch of the land belongs to you, but every inch could easily imprison you."

"House arrest, travel restrictions, surveillance, stopping phone service, cutting the Internet connection. What we can still do is greet the crazy motherland once again."

"One of the reasons religions are widely accepted is spiritual laziness and its resulting fear."

"In an environment without public platform nor protection, the individual is the most powerful and most responsible."

"This is a decadent era. Its main characteristic is that it’s dependent on lies and cheating. Once it loses this characteristic, it can’t survive for even a day."