Ai Weiwei says his work has been “effectively cancelled” by the Lisson Gallery, after it pulled his show which was due to open this week.
A tweet about the Israel-Hamas war seems to be the source of the disagreement. Ai, a Chinese dissident artist and free speech campaigner, wrote on Twitter/X: "The sense of guilt around the persecution of the Jewish people has been, at times, transferred to offset the Arab world. Financially, culturally, and in terms of media influence, the Jewish community has had a significant presence in the United States. The annual $3bn aid package to Israel has, for decades, been touted as one of the most valuable investments the United States has ever made. This partnership is often described as one of shared destiny.”
After “extensive conversations,” the gallery in Marylebone decided to indefinitely postpone the show. They said in a statement: “We together agreed that now is not the right time to present his new body of work. There is no place for debate that can be characterised as antisemitic or Islamophobic”.
Ai said that he had "attempted to be objective and neutral without moral judgment, accusations, or evaluation of human actions," and added that he believed in giving voice to “all kinds of opinions”. The artist has previously drawn attention to the plight of Palestinians. In 2016 he visited Gaza for a documentary he made about the refugee crisis, called Human Flow.
After growing up in exile in China, Ai has campaigned against censorship throughout his career. “I can live without ever doing another exhibition,” he told The Art Newspaper. “But I cannot live without free thinking and free speech.” He added that the decision to pull the show was taken “to avoid further disputes and for my own wellbeing.”
