Ai Weiwei, who is in London installing his exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA), revealed how he left Beijing to fly to Munich unsure whether the UK government would grant a visa without restrictions to visit Britain. "I had a 27-minute conversation with the British Ambassador [in China] at the airport," he told a packed press conference today (11 September). The power of social media and remonstrations on his behalf to the UK Home Office by the RA among others meant that by the time he landed in Germany a full visa had been granted.
Ai arrived in Munich at the end of July just as thousands of refugees were trying to reach the city, many from Syria. He praised Germany for its response to the crisis. He said he believed the British people too "have very strong compassion" to the plight of "desperate people" and urged its government to do more. He said a global effort was needed for what is a long-term problem.
Ai, whose young son lives in Berlin and where the artist has a studio, said that he hoped to be able to spend time there and in Beijing. He is due to start teaching in the German capital, a three-year appointment at the Berlin University of the Arts.
Recalling his detention by the Chinese authorities, which resulted in the confiscation of his passport and an "unprecedented" tax bill, he said that it was very tough on him, his family and friends. He said that his lawyers are still detained and the [15m yuan, or $2.3m] tax bill is unresolved. Ai also said that he is in almost daily contact with the police by phone and text message. "They say, 'you should do this or consider not doing that,'" he revealed, adding that with one or two exceptions the Chinese authorities have not interfered with his art.
On a personal level, Ai said that during his detention his son had had nightmares that his father would never be freed. He was looking forward to his son joining him in London later this week, so they could go and play in nearby Green Park.
Ai's exhibition at the RA, which has been co-organised by Tim Marlow, the RA's artistic director and Adrian Locke, its senior curator, opens on 19 September (until 13 December). Marlow said Ai's fellow academicians are holding a lunch in his honour next week. They are delighted that Ai can open the exhibition that until July it seemed unlikely that he would be able to attend.
