The artist Ai Weiwei is researching the history of Chinese art and literature during the 20th century for his next book, he revealed just before the opening of his exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London (until 13 December). The book will span the century from the birth of his father, the poet Ai Qing, in 1910, to the birth of his son. Ai said the idea for the book originated during his 81-day detention in 2011. “All my memories became empty for a week,” he recalled, spurring him to research the experiences of his parents’ generation. Ai is the co-editor of The Black Cover Book (1994), the first in a three-volume series on contemporary art of the West and China.
