Ai Weiwei: 'Any artwork, if it's relevant, is political'

Artist to publish autobiography recording a century of 'China's intellectual struggle'

Ai Weiwei: "Any artwork, if it's relevant, is political, or otherwise is just some kind of decoration, or for money making." (Photo provided by Ai Weiwei)

ANDREW SHARP, Nikkei Asia deputy politics and economics editor

February 20, 2021 08:00 JST

TOKYO -- As the Chinese Communist Party celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, one of Beijing's most outspoken critics will publish a personal history that also spans a century.

Dissident artist Ai Weiwei will release his yet untitled autobiography -- written in Chinese and translated into about a dozen languages -- toward the end of the year. The book starts with his father's birth and ends with that of his youngest son.