Artist Ai Weiwei has returned to China for the first time since 2015, when he was forced into exile from the country.
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei had frequently found himself as a target of China’s authoritarian policies – something he also frequently criticized in his works. In 2015, however, the authorities seized his passport, and he was forced to leave the country. Since then, he has lived in the UK, Germany, and Portugal.
However, last month, the renowned artist was finally allowed to enter the country. He later recounted this three-week stay in China in an interview with CNN. He reportedly did not take any precautions and did not experience any obstructions, apart from a two-hour interrogation at the airport. Explaining the experience, Weiwei said, “It felt like a phone call that had been disconnected for 10 years suddenly reconnecting. The tone, rhythm, and speed all returned to how they were before. […] What I missed most was speaking Chinese. For immigrants, the greatest loss is not wealth, loneliness or an unfamiliar lifestyle, but the loss of linguistic exchange.” He also mentioned his 17-year-old son meeting his grandmother.
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The exile of Ai Weiwei wasn’t the first time he was targeted by the Chinese government. In 2011, he was arrested by the authorities under tax evasion charges. He spent 81 days in a 170-square-foot windowless prison – a harrowing experience in later recreated in his S.A.C.R.E.D (2012) series of dioramas. Even after release, he was under constant surveillance and frequent interrogations until his exile in 2015.
