China: Top Artist and Architect Ai Weiwei Put Under House Arrest
Sunday, November 7, 2010 at 7:40
Scott Lucas in Ai Weiwei, China, China and East Asia, EA Global

UPDATE 1315 GMT: The Guardian of London reports, "Hundreds of supporters of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei gathered for a party at his condemned studio in Shanghai today, as he remained under house arrest 650 miles away in Beijing."

Chinese avant-garde artist and architectural designer Ai Weiwei is being kept under house arrest for at least another 24 hours to prevent him from attending a party commemorating the forced demolition of his newly-built studio in Shanghai.

Ai, a prominent social activist, was told by people --- who refused to identify themselves but whom he suspects were police --- that he would be detained until midnight Sunday.

Ai was invited by the head of Shanghai's suburban Jiading district to build a studio on a plot of farmland containing a derelict warehouse. He spent two years designing and building the studio, only to receive notice in July that the building was an illegal structure and would be knocked down. Other artists invited to build on the site were unaffected by the order and Ai said he was later told that he had been singled out for political reasons. He believes that the move is retribution for his blogging about the alleged torture killing of a man by six city police officers and about the case of Feng Zhenghu, a Shanghai activist who camped out at Tokyo's international airport for nearly 90 days after Chinese officials barred him from returning home.

Ai has exhibited projects throughout Europe and the US, with an installation of 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds currently on display in the Tate Modern Gallery's Turbine Hall in London.

Ai planned to commemorate the demolition of his studio with a party catered with river crabs, a Chinese homophone for the government's slogan of "harmony". Critics use the term to describe censorship and the demolition of working-class homes to make way for new developments.

About 2,000 people had signed up to attend, including fellow artists, musicians, and members of the media, but the gathering has been canceled, although the artist said many still planned to visit the space on Sunday.

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