Artist Ai Weiwei banned from using Lego to build Australian artwork | Art and design | The Guardian
▻http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/oct/24/artist-ai-weiwei-banned-by-lego-to-build-artwork-australian-exhibition
Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei says Danish toymaker Lego has refused his studio’s request for a bulk order of the plastic toys on political grounds.
In an Instagram post on Friday evening, the artist said Lego had refused the bulk order in September, quoting the company as saying it “cannot approve the use of Legos for political works”.
The artist’s accusation follows news this week that British firm Merlin Entertainments will open a Legoland park in Shanghai in conjunction with a Chinese partner. That announcement, timed to coincide with Chinese president Xi Jinping’s state visit to the UK, seems to have prompted the artist’s Instagram post.
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Ai Weiwei swamped by Lego donation offers after ban on use for ’political’ artwork | Art and design | The Guardian
▻http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/oct/25/ai-weiwei-swamped-by-lego-donation-offers-after-ban-on-use-for-politica
Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei has been inundated with Lego brick donation offers after the Danish toy maker refused a request for a bulk order of the plastic toys on political grounds.
Artist Ai Weiwei banned from using Lego to build Australian artwork
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On Friday, the artist said Lego refused his studio’s request for an order to create an artwork about free speech to be shown at the National Gallery of Victoria in Australia for an Andy Warhol/Ai Weiwei exhibition in December.
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Artist Ai Weiwei hits out over Lego ’censorship’ - BBC News
▻http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-34630829
Artist Ai Weiwei has accused Lego of “censorship and discrimination” after the company refused to let him to use its bricks in a new exhibition.
Lego refused a bulk order for bricks that were to be used in a new artwork about political dissidents as part of an exhibition in Melbourne, Australia.
Toymaker Lego said it never sold directly to anyone wanting to use its product to make a political statement.
The artist has since been deluged with offers of Lego from supporters.
