Finally he comes to Berlin – Berliner Morgenpost

  07/31/15
 
 

 Gabriela Walde

 First Ai Weiwei remains in Munich, it goes to the capital, where his son lives

Since he was already , the small Ai Lao, very eagerly, and waited at Munich Airport on his dad. The heaved the little fix on his rolling suitcase, the joy was great. Yesterday afternoon Ai Weiwei landed in Munich. Even at noon there were rumors that China’s most famous artist and dissident will fly to Berlin. In the University of the Arts (UdK), there were telephone inquiries, whether they did not want him to pick up from Tegel Airport. But at the University of you already knew beforehand that Ai Weiwei first flies to Munich, but “in the coming days to Berlin comes,” said spokesman Björn Wilck. Even in his Berlin gallery neugerriemschneider one is attuned to his arrival. When exactly, no one knew. “We’re glad!” An exhibition is planned in the gallery in the middle. In recent days we had been in contact with Ai Weiwei, would skyping.

In Munich wants to go Ai Weiwei first instance to take in medical treatment. In 2009 he had to leave notoperieren head in Munich, the injury resulted from an attack by the Chinese secret police. Of the investigations will probably depend on exactly when he comes to Berlin. The 57-year-old artist who keeps his fans on Instagram to date is, the city of Berlin very connected, the federal government has used in the past year for its concerns, long ago that a contemporary artist beat so high political waves. But not only that, his six-year-old son lives here with his mother and goes to school here, too. Because the boy in Beijing has no school license and probably fearing Ai Weiwei also harassment, which could be exposed to his son. The regime is unpredictable, as he began to feel the last few years on his own body. Am Pfefferberg the Chinese has also a studio, an apartment, there are also the infrastructure is so there.

In the UdK Ai Weiwei, a funded by the Einstein Foundation, take three-year visiting professorship , “We are prepared for His coming, but understand when Ai Weiwei once his private affairs regulates,” says Björn Wilck. The site could start coming winter semester from mid-October.

A few days ago in Beijing Ai Weiwei had to get back his passport. Since it was set in Berlin for his arrival. Four years was the internationally networked artists without travel document. The only question was how Ai with his passport really can travel freely. Some Chinese dissidents were arrested alone while trying to leave the country at the airport. Otherwise the return was denied after departure.

“The litmus test, the Chinese government passed the exit,” says Geron Sievernich, studied sinologist and head of the Martin-Gropius-Bau, where Ai Weiwei last year with a record of 240,000 visitors exhibited. Decisive will be whether the Chinese artists ought to enter his homeland again. Ai Weiwei has always said that he wants to stay in China. For years, the Chinese bosses have set the dissident artist under arrest, withheld his passport. In 2011 he sat for 81 days in prison, no one knew at first where he was. The psychological terror that he experienced, he has addressed in many works. The allegations of state power: tax evasion, bigamy, pornography. “Everything offensive propaganda of the party,” says Sievernich, the most exactly followed the case of Ai Weiwei. Heads of State and Foreign Minister then sent solidarity and Empörungsbriefe to China’s government power.

Exhibition in Beijing

Despite the harassment and surveillance around the clock to let the enterprising Chinese to not prohibit the mouth, he used the Internet furiously as his forum, from Beijing, he developed large retrospectives in major museums around the world. He was not allowed to leave China, traveling exclusively in their own country, and always he was under surveillance, he could exhibit not there, the media remained silent him dead. When he in June Kunstareal “798″ actually was able to open a solo exhibition in Beijing, which was a sensation. Political observers interpret this change of course the fact that Chinese government visits are pending in Europe, there would be the image of polish something. Art has long been a diplomatic Kitt

Shortly before departure Ai Weiwei from Beijing it was then still to irritation caused by the British government. Ironically him the dissident artist, she refused – with regard to its “criminal past” in prison – a long-term visa for six months. Ai Weiwei has published the documents in Instagram. He has tried to clarify the facts in telephone conversations with the British Embassy and the immigration authorities. “But the representatives insisted that their sources are correct, and refused to give a wrong decision,” he writes. Actually Ai Weiwei wanted to fly to London in September at the opening of his exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts. Approved him were ultimately three weeks. British diplomacy? In October, China’s state and party leader Xi Jinping has announced in London.