Yahoo – AFP,
January 27, 2016
Copenhagen (AFP) - Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei on Wednesday closed down his exhibition in the Danish capital after lawmakers passed a controversial bill allowing authorities to seize valuables from asylum seekers.
Chinese activist Ai Weiwei plans to create a memorial to the plight of refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos (AFP Photo/Angelos Tzortzinis) |
Copenhagen (AFP) - Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei on Wednesday closed down his exhibition in the Danish capital after lawmakers passed a controversial bill allowing authorities to seize valuables from asylum seekers.
"Ai
Weiwei has decided to close his exhibition 'Ruptures' at Faurschou Foundation
Copenhagen, Denmark. This decision follows the Danish parliament's approval of
the law proposal that allows seizing valuables and delaying family reunions for
asylum seekers," a post on his official Instagram and Facebook accounts
read.
The
exhibition opened in March 2015 and had been due to close in mid-April 2016.
"I support
Ai Weiwei's decision, which is all about freedom and human rights. I think it's
so very sad," Jens Faurschou, owner of the Faurschou Foundation in
Copenhagen, told AFP.
Denmark's
parliament on Tuesday adopted reforms aimed at dissuading migrants from seeking
asylum by delaying family reunifications and allowing authorities to confiscate
migrants' valuables.
The law has
provoked international outrage, with many rights activists blasting the delay
for family reunifications as a breach of international conventions.
"Denmark
has decided that it wants to be in the forefront of the symbolic and inhuman
politics of today's biggest humanitarian crisis in Europe and the Middle East.
We both wish that Denmark had decided instead to be in the forefront of a respectful
European solution to solve the acute humanitarian crisis," Faurschou said.
China's
most prominent contemporary artist, Ai helped design the Bird's Nest stadium
for the Beijing Olympics and has been exhibited around the globe, but his works
have often run afoul of China's authorities.
He was
detained in 2011 for 81 days over his advocacy of democracy and human rights as
well as other criticisms of the government in Beijing. Following the detention,
he was placed under house arrest and his passport was taken away. The document
was only returned last July, enabling him to travel overseas.
Ai's show
in Copenhagen included some of his most important work including Sunflower
Seeds, made from 100 million handmade porcelain sunflower seeds.
The show also
featured several of the artist's sculptures made of wood from Buddhist temples
torn down during China's Cultural Revolution.
Earlier
this month, the 58-year-old announced plans to create a memorial to the plight
of refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos, after meeting some of the many
migrants there who risked their lives to reach Europe.
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Ai Weiwei shuts Danish show in protest at asylum seeker law https://t.co/EpwvalH28D pic.twitter.com/mUBcRBGbos
— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 27, 2016
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