Chinese activist artist Ai Weiwei is withdrawing works on exhibit in Denmark, a protest at recent moves that make the country less welcoming to refugees, Ai said yesterday.
Ai posted his decision on social media, a day after the Danish parliament approved tighter asylum rules, including a controversial plan to seize assets from asylum-seekers so they can contribute to their own upkeep.
His exhibits in Denmark include the installation Yu Yi, 2015, which is part of the exhibition A New Dynasty – Created in China at the Aros Aarhus Art Museum in the western city of Aarhus.
Ai’s decision would also affect an exhibition in the capital, Copenhagen, at the Faurschou Foundation. The exhibition, titled Ruptures, opened in March 2015 and due to run until April 15.
Faurschou told broadcaster DR that Ai had telephoned him from the Greek island of Lesbos, where the artist is filming a documentary on the refugee crisis, and had expressed shock at the Danish decision.
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei helps an Afghan migrant as he arrives with other refugees and migrants on a raft on the Greek island of Lesbos, in this January 25 file picture.
