隨《NUVO》雜誌走進 Ai Weiwei 北京工作室

Ai Weiwei 於近日出鏡擔綱 《NUVO》最新一期雜誌封面人物，來自加拿大的 Lifestyle 刊物也直接對話 Ai Weiwei ，暢談其創作生活中的現實與政治挑戰，並深度剖析了 Ai Weiwei 即將於 Vancouver 雙年展展出的藝術品，其中包括在 Harbour Green 公園展出的「F Grass」裝置藝術、《Stay Home！》紀錄片、以及名為《The Fake Case》的自傳式電影；此外，在文章插圖中，《NUVO》還帶領讀者一覽 Ai Weiwei 位於北京的工作室，全方位呈現了這位激進藝術大師的真實生活。有興趣的朋友可以瀏覽《NUVO》雜誌官方網站在線閱讀文章全部內容。

“On April 3, 2011, on the way to the airport to see a site before an exhibition, I was arrested and secretly taken to an unknown location.” Ai’s voice is measured, contemplative. “Then, after 81 days of secret detention and interrogation, scaring me by telling me how I could be sentenced for 10 years, suddenly I was just released without any prewarning. The same way I was arrested.” Upon his release, and on the pretext of ongoing additional litigation that has included charges ranging from tax evasion to adultery, Ai has not been permitted to obtain a passport or to travel abroad, and indeed only in recent months was he granted the right to move around the country with relative freedom.

Working at a remove of thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of kilometres has quickly become an intrinsic part of the artist’s practice. “I’m used to it,” he says. “We have a brilliant team, all very young people, creative, educated, and they extend the studio. You know they have the ability to make it happen.” Thanks to them, and to the outpouring of international support that’s come from every corner of the art world since Ai was first detained, the artist has managed to seem ubiquitous even in his confinement.

When reports of his arrest first hit the Internet, a popular meme sprang up on Twitter and elsewhere, even popping up on bus shelters in Berlin, demanding information about the artist’s whereabouts: “Where’s Weiwei?” The answer now is: Weiwei is everywhere.