Zürcher Nachrichten - Ai Weiwei warns of 'shaking foundation' of democracy

EUR -
AED 3.85579
AFN 77.161112
ALL 98.995993
AMD 418.365374
ANG 1.886841
AOA 960.004243
ARS 1108.079303
AUD 1.652947
AWG 1.889557
AZN 1.788749
BAM 1.956106
BBD 2.11389
BDT 127.209878
BGN 1.955839
BHD 0.395364
BIF 3072.105182
BMD 1.049754
BND 1.404673
BOB 7.23413
BRL 5.98994
BSD 1.046899
BTN 90.762292
BWP 14.440362
BYN 3.425813
BYR 20575.179075
BZD 2.102989
CAD 1.489444
CDF 3008.595443
CHF 0.94367
CLF 0.02602
CLP 998.515955
CNY 7.614958
CNH 7.620484
COP 4322.624675
CRC 530.870311
CUC 1.049754
CUP 27.818482
CVE 110.753138
CZK 25.039472
DJF 186.5627
DKK 7.464932
DOP 65.452576
DZD 141.992019
EGP 53.114144
ERN 15.746311
ETB 132.483025
FJD 2.411604
FKP 0.843639
GBP 0.833337
GEL 2.965597
GGP 0.843639
GHS 16.219109
GIP 0.843639
GMD 75.061456
GNF 9085.621541
GTQ 8.082263
GYD 219.044228
HKD 8.171926
HNL 26.937096
HRK 7.584553
HTG 136.988143
HUF 402.501982
IDR 16984.862814
ILS 3.723006
IMP 0.843639
INR 90.980451
IQD 1375.177785
IRR 44181.526931
ISK 147.018457
JEP 0.843639
JMD 165.321108
JOD 0.744805
JPY 159.879118
KES 135.418639
KGS 91.801394
KHR 4209.514046
KMF 491.918723
KPW 944.873173
KRW 1513.178853
KWD 0.323661
KYD 0.872407
KZT 520.50398
LAK 22800.657994
LBP 94057.961853
LKR 309.408032
LRD 207.562658
LSL 19.273884
LTL 3.099651
LVL 0.634986
LYD 5.149085
MAD 10.45293
MDL 19.575075
MGA 4949.590636
MKD 61.519376
MMK 3409.560155
MNT 3633.358171
MOP 8.393712
MRU 42.121421
MUR 48.782467
MVR 16.170137
MWK 1816.074842
MXN 21.311586
MYR 4.655138
MZN 67.083198
NAD 19.27388
NGN 1590.377723
NIO 38.578856
NOK 11.68044
NPR 145.224309
NZD 1.832527
OMR 0.403893
PAB 1.046964
PEN 3.884619
PGK 4.210463
PHP 60.565599
PKR 293.144207
PLN 4.169571
PYG 8249.131845
QAR 3.822683
RON 4.979407
RSD 117.121293
RUB 95.596761
RWF 1470.705402
SAR 3.93724
SBD 8.852278
SCR 15.09562
SDG 630.902531
SEK 11.227141
SGD 1.40573
SHP 0.864564
SLE 23.882294
SLL 22012.823144
SOS 599.938275
SRD 36.975526
STD 21727.789068
SVC 9.160126
SYP 13649.968557
SZL 19.273872
THB 35.380541
TJS 11.427205
TMT 3.674139
TND 3.332448
TOP 2.458633
TRY 38.052881
TTD 7.104873
TWD 34.306491
TZS 2717.306204
UAH 43.564662
UGX 3852.602007
USD 1.049754
UYU 45.477106
UZS 13673.046649
VES 65.07771
VND 26653.254935
VUV 129.815991
WST 2.97854
XAF 656.040764
XAG 0.03265
XAU 0.000364
XCD 2.837013
XDR 0.801579
XOF 657.674677
XPF 119.331742
YER 260.339349
ZAR 19.273278
ZMK 9449.04978
ZMW 29.498047
ZWL 338.020371
  • RBGPF

    63.5700

    63.57

    +100%

  • BCC

    1.0300

    121.63

    +0.85%

  • BCE

    0.1900

    23.82

    +0.8%

  • SCS

    -0.0700

    12.35

    -0.57%

  • GSK

    -0.3800

    36.17

    -1.05%

  • RELX

    -0.8400

    51.07

    -1.64%

  • NGG

    -0.5400

    60.73

    -0.89%

  • CMSC

    0.0900

    23.5

    +0.38%

  • JRI

    0.0435

    12.83

    +0.34%

  • CMSD

    0.1872

    23.69

    +0.79%

  • VOD

    -0.0700

    8.36

    -0.84%

  • AZN

    -0.8700

    73.58

    -1.18%

  • RIO

    0.0700

    63.36

    +0.11%

  • BTI

    -0.7900

    38.82

    -2.04%

  • BP

    0.5100

    35

    +1.46%

  • RYCEF

    0.0200

    7.84

    +0.26%

Ai Weiwei warns of 'shaking foundation' of democracy
Ai Weiwei warns of 'shaking foundation' of democracy

Ai Weiwei warns of 'shaking foundation' of democracy

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has revealed the "shaking foundation" of democracy, Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei said as he unveiled what he said was the biggest retrospective of his work to date.

Text size:

Reflecting on the war and the massive refugee crisis it has created, Ai expressed fears for "our... so-called peaceful life since World War Two"

"Suddenly we feel the... foundation is shaking of democracy and freedom," he told journalists in Vienna Tuesday.

He was speaking at the Albertina Modern gallery where the show, "In Search of Humanity", opens Wednesday.

While condemning Russia's invasion of its neighbour as "unacceptable", Ai expressed concern about increasing global divisions. A "Cold War psychology is not going to work", he said.

The new exhibition, which he described as "critical and radical", displays several works that are responses to the experiences of those fleeing war and persecution.

There is a striking arrangement of life jackets found on the shores of the Greek island of Lesbos, arranged around a giant crystal ball in a lotus-like installation.

That piece is also typical of the monumental nature of much of the work on show, which comprises more than 50 tonnes of material.

None of his previous shows, he said, had had such broad coverage of his work. It charts the evolution of his artistic work and political activism over several decades.

- Dystopian dolls' houses -

What Ai calls the current "crisis of human rights and freedom of speech" is starkly portrayed in a life-size replica of the cell where he was held and interrogated after his 2011 arrest by the Chinese police.

A set of dioramas beside it depict scenes from his interrogation, like dystopian dolls' houses.

Some of his more recent works, such as the treadmill used by his friend Julian Assange during his stay at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, are perhaps not the easiest to read. Others however, pack a more direct emotional punch.

A huge installation makes use of twisted rebars salvaged from a school destroyed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, which killed more than 80,000 people.

The work stands as a testament to the thousands of children killed when poorly constructed school buildings collapsed.

Irreverence and humour are also on display, such as in the series of photos of Ai's famous middle finger directed at sites such as the ceremonial gate in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. They are arrayed beneath a four-letter word lit up in neon.

He also makes extensive use of Lego as a medium -- in one case to recreate the Saudi flag.

Instead of the Islamic profession of belief, the flag is emblazoned with the reported last words of journalist Jamal Khashoggi during his 2018 murder in Istanbul's Saudi consulate: "I can't breathe".

The show runs until September 4.

A.Weber--NZN