Lego kowtows to China by refusing to send bulk order of bricks to Ai Weiwei
- 9 years ago
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — Lego has refused to fulfill a bulk order of plastic bricks placed by Ai Weiwei, the Chinese artist whose work more often than not packs a political punch.
Being an advocate of free speech in Communist China isn't without costs. The artist / activist has been held behind bars and he's seen his studio get bulldozed to the ground on government orders.
Ai Weiwei was planning to create a Lego block installation at Australia's National Gallery of Victoria — similar to what he did at his Alcatraz prison exhibition where he recreated portraits of political prisoners with the plastic bricks.
Lego said they would not support the upcoming exhibition and refused to supply the bricks. "We refrain, on a global level, from actively engaging in or endorsing the use of Lego bricks in projects or contexts of a political agenda," Lego marketing director Troy Taylor told ABC News.
This comes less than a week after it was announced that a Legoland theme park will be built in Shanghai. Lego, a Danish company, is also in the process of building a factory in Jiaxing, China. And it's likely the company wants to make sure the next Lego movie isn't barred from Chinese theaters.
Lego is kowtowing to the Chinese government, which will go to great lengths to silence its critics, but Ai Weiwei says he's determined to deliver the project.
And he's not alone. Supporters from around the globe are sending the artist their own blocks to use in the installation. Some Twitter users even took the time to make their own political statement with Lego bricks.
In 2008, Lego provided bricks for an art project in Copenhagen which was described as "very political."
Check out #legosforweiwei for more information.
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Being an advocate of free speech in Communist China isn't without costs. The artist / activist has been held behind bars and he's seen his studio get bulldozed to the ground on government orders.
Ai Weiwei was planning to create a Lego block installation at Australia's National Gallery of Victoria — similar to what he did at his Alcatraz prison exhibition where he recreated portraits of political prisoners with the plastic bricks.
Lego said they would not support the upcoming exhibition and refused to supply the bricks. "We refrain, on a global level, from actively engaging in or endorsing the use of Lego bricks in projects or contexts of a political agenda," Lego marketing director Troy Taylor told ABC News.
This comes less than a week after it was announced that a Legoland theme park will be built in Shanghai. Lego, a Danish company, is also in the process of building a factory in Jiaxing, China. And it's likely the company wants to make sure the next Lego movie isn't barred from Chinese theaters.
Lego is kowtowing to the Chinese government, which will go to great lengths to silence its critics, but Ai Weiwei says he's determined to deliver the project.
And he's not alone. Supporters from around the globe are sending the artist their own blocks to use in the installation. Some Twitter users even took the time to make their own political statement with Lego bricks.
In 2008, Lego provided bricks for an art project in Copenhagen which was described as "very political."
Check out #legosforweiwei for more information.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Daily videos brought to you by THE Taiwanese Animators behind the infamous Tiger Woods animation. We got the funniest animations on the web to help you stay in-the-know on all the trending stories, so sit back, relax, and watch a few.
Can't get enough of Taiwanese animations? Connect with us here:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/NMAtv
Twitter @nmatv http://www.twitter.com/nmatv
Google+ http://gplus.to/NMAtv