Ai Weiwei
Crabs, 2010-2011
31 × 8 in
78.7 × 20.3 cm
Edition 126/150
"THE WORLD IS NOT CHANGING IF YOU DON'T SHOULDER THE BURDEN OF RESPONSIBILITY."
This skateboard was inspired by the artist’s installation ‘He Xie’, a group of 3,200 ceramic crabs installed at Washington D.C.’s Hirshhorn Museum in 2011. "Crabs" refers to a slang word used for internet censorship in China. It plays on the similar sounding between ‘river crab’ and ‘harmonious’. Brand new in original shrink wrap.
“I think there is a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression.”
– Ai Weiwei
“Without freedom of speech there is no modern world, just a barbaric one."― Ai Weiwei
This photo is part of ‘Study in Perspective’ where Ai Weiwei openly attacks the regime in place by de-sacralizing one of the country’s most iconic and controversial sites: Tiananmen square.
What is clearly considered an ‘act of rebellion’, becomes an opportunity to denounce the total control of the Party over Chinese citizens.