Ai Weiwei's Photographs

Self PortraitFrom 1983 - 1993, Ai Weiwei lived in the East Village in New York City. There he began taking diary-like photographs — pictures of the people, places and encounters he experienced during his late twenties and early thirties. Around 1988, Ai Weiwei began to focus of the more gritty nature of urban decay. When he returned to Beijing in 1993, Ai Weiwei had more than 10,00 unprocessed photographs to sift through. The result was his New York Photographs series.Ai Weiwei

Study of Perspective - TiananmenThe first image of the series was photographed in Beijing in 1995. The artist repeats the gesture in a variety of locations around the world as an expression of his rejection of authority.Ai Weiwei

Study of Perspective - Eiffel TowerAi Weiwei

Study of Perspective - The White HouseAi Weiwei

Fairytale Portrait: Mo Nai Bao ZhengFor 's Documenta 12 in Kassel, Germany, Ai Weiwei brought 1001 Chinese citizens as a "living installation." The artist photographed each participant near the office in China where they applied for travel documents, which are difficult to obtain, almost a "fairytale," for ordinary Chinese citizens.Ai Weiwei

Fairytale Portrait: Fang ZiAi Weiwei

Fairytale Portrait: Zhang LeiAi Weiwei

Fairytale Portrait: Chen Wei BinAi Weiwei

Sichuan Earthquake ImagesAfter a massive earthquake wrought havoc on Sichuan province on May 12, , Ai Weiwei traveled to the region to document the destruction. More than 69,000 people were killed in the quake, including many children who were buried when their schools collapsed because of lax construction code enforcement. Ai Weiwei was severely beaten by police for trying to get the government to release an official list of those killed in the disaster. He was finally able to obtain 5,385 names of students killed and published them on his blog for the first anniversary of the earthquake.Ai Weiwei

Sichuan Earthquake ImagesAi Weiwei

Sichuan Earthquake ImagesAi Weiwei

New York Photographs: Subway EntranceAi Weiwei

Sichuan Earthquake ImagesAi Weiwei

Sichuan Earthquake ImagesAi Weiwei

Studio complex in Shanghai designed by Ai Weiwei / FAKE Design, demolished in January Ai Weiwei was asked by the Shanghai government to build an arts and cultural studio in 2008. Just after the center was completed in 2010 the government inexplicably declared the structure illegal and in January had it demolished and plowed over. Ai Weiwei photographically documented the process.Ai Weiwei