Two days ago, outspoken Chinese artist Ai Weiwei launched weiweicam.com, a website where you could watch a live stream of the artist going about his daily activities at home.
The launch marked the one-year anniversary of the artist’s seizure by Chinese officials last year, when he was held for 81 days.
The World’s Mary Kay Magistad in Beijing says that Ai Weiwei’s attempt to stream his life online was “a sort of tongue in cheek piece of performance art” — a way to “help” the public security authorities keep an eye on him, since he’s been under surveillance since being released from detention in June.
The authorities objected however, and Ai Weiwei has now had to take the cameras down.
The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!