Quotes from Ai Weiwei

If there is no free speech, every single life has lived in vain

Life is never guaranteed to be safe, so we better use it while we are still in good condition.

The 'Bird's Nest' National Stadium, which I helped to conceive, is designed to embody the Olympic spirit of 'fair competition.' It tells people that freedom is possible but needs fairness, courage and strength.

This so-called contemporary art is not a form, but a philosophy of society.

As a human being, member of society, you must clearly state your mind. It's a responsibility. It is the way you identify yourself otherwise you don't know who you are and why you are here.

I never had secure, belonging feelings with this society [in China].

The tragic reality of today is reflected in the true plight of our spiritual existence. We are spineless and cannot stand straight.

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

I think of art as coming from daily life, daily experience. I think it's very important not to have it become work for some kind of elite circle.

Even if I have hundreds of things to do, the disconnected feeling is still there because it is very hard to find a real purpose of life.

Widespread state control over art and culture has left no room for freedom of expression in the country. For more than 60 years, anyone with a dissenting opinion has been suppressed. Chinese art is merely a product: it avoids any meaningful engagement. There is no larger context. Its only purpose is to charm viewers with its ambiguity.

The internet is a wild land with its own games, languages and gestures through which we are starting to share common feelings.

Hopefully, other successes aren't like me. It carries much more meaning to other people; my success story is irrelevant. It doesn't make any sense.

It [success] is really by mistake.

I don't think I was very structured in that society and I don't really believe in personal success, which most Americans believe in.

Maybe [success] is because I'm in China and I'm more open. Maybe it's my independent behavior, or because I participated in certain projects. I have no idea.

I often feel more disgust than pride about this kind of success. So there's no regret whatsoever.

Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it. I don't feel that much anger. I equally have a lot of joy.

Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it.

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

In my life, I often make so-called major decisions by very quick, immediate responses.

Freedom of expression is a very essential condition for me to make any art. Also, it is an essential value for my life. I have to protect this right and also to fight for the possibility.

For me, it is OK as long as I can breathe, as long as my heart is pumping, as long as I can express myself.

The Beijing Olympics and the Shanghai World Expo show just how much effort China is willing to spend to enter the global stage. But while China desires to understand the world, it fails to accept its universal values.