Ai Weiwei's #WeiweiCam

Apr 04

Web Only

Ai Weiwei's #WeiweiCam

Artist installs his own cameras to call for greater transparency in China.

Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei reads emails and letters of support on his computer in his studio. REUTERS/David Gray

On the one-year anniversary of his detention by Chinese officials, outspoken artist Ai Weiwei installed four live webcams in his home as a symbolic reference to the constant surveillance he has been subjected to since his release last June. Now anyone on the web can monitor the Chinese artist 24-hours-a-day and watch Ai engage in various activities, including sleeping and tweeting from his computer.

Ai was detained for 81 days last year as part of a major government crackdown on dissidents. Following his release, he was given a one-year probation, during which he is not allowed to leave Beijing. Ai launched this webcam project both for his friends and the Chinese authorities and has made it a creative method of calling for transparency from all sides.

View the story "Ai Weiwei's #WeiweiCam" on StorifyAi Weiwei's #WeiweiCamArtist installs his own cameras to call for greater transparency in China.Storified by The Stream · Tue, Apr 03 2012 18:41:15On the one-year anniversary of his detention by Chinese officials, outspoken artist Ai Weiwei installed four live webcams in his home as a symbolic reference to the constant surveillance he has been subjected to since his release last June. Now anyone on the web can monitor the Chinese artist 24-hours-a-day and watch Ai engage in various activities, including sleeping and tweeting from his computer.

Ai was detained for 81 days last year as part of a major government crackdown on dissidents. Following his release, he was given a one-year probation, during which he is not allowed to leave Beijing. Ai launched this webcam project both for his friends and the Chinese authorities and has made it a creative method of calling for transparency from all sides.
A screenshot of Ai in front of his webcam on Tuesday night in Beijing.Screen Shot 2012-04-03 at 9.38.18 AMAJstreamphoto-2.jpegAWWNeverSorry@aiww You're sleeping like a baby. Good luck for tommorow.Sylvain MarettoI feel a little creepy watching #AiWeiwei sleep. #WeiWeiCamsarah grace sulistioScreen Shot 2012-04-03 at 10.48.38 AMAJstreamMany online tweeted in support of Ai Weiwei. Alison Klayman, a documentary filmmaker and creator of the forthcoming film, "Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry" said:1 yr ago I was up all night tweeting abt @aiww's detention. Thankful today he is still inspiring ppl on Twitter & in my film @AWWNeverSorryaliklay@AIWW AiWeiwei show @Jeudepaumeparis : visual proof of a man doing everything he can to communicate & creatively fight against injustice©GC@aiww GREAT initiative, keep up your ideals, change will come!Jolanda Gerbecks@langzichn says: [The Chinese government] uses 15 surveillance cameras to monitor him. So Ai decided to use four webcams to make his life go live. #weiweicam有人用15个摄像头看他，于是艾婶儿用四个摄像头直播自己的生活。 #weiweicam @aiwwlangzichn@wentommy says: Those who install webcams in offices are normal people. But if you set up four webcams to make surfing the internet, eating, drinking tea, and even sleeping 24 hours live, you become an artist. 在办公室安上监控头是正常人，用4个摄像头24小时直播自己上网，吃饭，喝茶，睡觉的，就成艺术家了。http://ww1.sinaimg.cn/large/89676c4djw1drlrfdil01j.jpg文涛During Ai's detention, those who worried about his safety used creative ways to call for his release. WhereisWeiweicollage.jpgAWWNeverSorryThe following cartoon by @hexiefarm was made shortly after Ai's 2011 detention. In the illustration, Ai is depicted as a protective god who fights against evil, but is clearly constrained by a wooden lock around his neck. WordpressOne year after Ai's detention, netizens used hashtag #81tian ("81 days") to denote the days Ai was allegedly in secret detention. @sfhzsfhz says: It is the exact day, one year ago, that I registered a Twitter account after I was informed of Ai's detention. Since then, I have been disappointed about Chinese authorities. Since then, I have come to understand the Chinese Twitter world, and since then I have seen such a powerful good man. Since then, I have been trying to tell all people around me everything about Ai Weiwei. #81tian#81tian 纪念去年今天本人因为获知尊敬的艾未未被抓，而注册twitte一年。那天起，对那个当局彻底地失去任何信任了。从那天起，才进入中文推世界，才看到有这么多顽强的好人。从那天起，努力和周围人，和墙内人，告诉他们围绕艾未未的一切（有时候被人说我真烦）。但还要坚持。hope/tears@ruanji says: One year ago today, I tweeted several times more than I usually did. I heard that Ai Weiwei and Wen Tao had been kidnapped and I felt hopeless. At that time, the most important question I asked was: what I could do? 去年今天，我发了比平时多几倍的推。在悉尼知道艾未未 @aiww 文涛 @wentommy 被绑架，感觉一筹莫展。当时主要的问题是：我能做什么？吉软糖@zhizime says: During the 81 days, all my passion had been ignited, and I paid close attention on any news coverage about Ai. The must-do thing everyday was to make posts on public forums, to call for people's awareness, to debate with those who tarnished him, and to tell uninformed ones who Ai Weiwei was and what he had done. Those posts have been deleted, over and over again. 八十一天里，我生命里所有的激情被点燃，精力全在关注未未是否有消息和外媒对此事的报道，每天必做的事去国内几个论坛发贴，呼吁大家关注，和抹黑他的人骂架，向不知道他的人介绍未未是个什么人，他都做了什么事情。这些帖子都迅速被删，一遍又一遍。 #81tian栀子@daxa says: Ai Weiwei is right: once you begin to care about this country, you are on your way to committing a crime. 艾未未说的没错：只要你开始关心这个国家，你就走上了犯罪的道？郭大虾One year ago, @aiww was detained by the Chinese government. "Never retreat, retweet!" #J2150EAnne PiaseckiLove it RT @Johes_Kaz: It's growing. Hamburg, Germany. @AWWNeverSorry @Aiww http://twitpic.com/94afdcAi Weiwei Film

Content on this website is for general information purposes only. Your comments are provided by your own free will and you take sole responsibility for any direct or indirect liability. You hereby provide us with an irrevocable, unlimited, and global license for no consideration to use, reuse, delete or publish comments, in accordance with Community Rules & Guidelines and Terms and Conditions.

Wednesday: What will be the legacy of the African Union? Record a video for the show.

Tweet to @AJStream