LONDON (AP) – It was an unexpected photo opportunity, as Ai Weiwei stood in London’s Royal Academy surrounded by 20 years’ worth of his artworks.
The Chinese artist is world famous for works addressing official corruption and the collision between Chinese culture and Western consumerism. But in his homeland he has been imprisoned, subject to house arrest and barred from international travel.
Royal Academy artistic director Tim Marlow says academy staff “didn’t think he’d come” to the London show. But in July, Chinese officials unexpectedly returned Ai’s passport.
The major exhibition includes a pair of jade handcuffs, a 2,000-year-old vase painted with the Coca-Cola logo and a surveillance camera carved from white marble.
Marlow said Tuesday he hopes the show will “let the art speak louder” than Ai’s political woes.