It’s never about me. [My supporters] use me as a mark for themselves to recognize their own form of life: I become their medium. I am always very cle… - Ai Weiwei

If there is no freedom of expression, then the beauty of life is lost. Participation in a society is not an artistic choice, it’s a human need.

I think by shattering it we can create a new form, a new way to look at what is valuable—how we decide what is valuable.

I tell people that because you don’t bear any responsibility, you put me in danger. If we all say the same thing, then I think the government has to listen. But because no one is saying it, I become singled out, even though what I’m saying is common sense. It’s very essential values that we all have to protect. But in Chinese society, people are giving up on protecting these values.