Ai Weiwei’s reveals Beijing portrait

Beijing “is not defined by its inhabitants, its buildings or its streets but by its mental structure. If we remember what Kafka wrote in his novel The Castle, we get a sense of it”, wrote Ai Weiwei in a Newsweek article. In The Castle, Kafka describes the alienation of a man, K., facing the omnipotence of a completely inaccessible administration locked in the castle without real contact with the villagers. No one knows who makes decisions and why they are made, and no one questions their implementation.

In this article the artist draws a portrait of a booming, unfair, cold, soulless city: one without a vision. According to Ai, due to its size and the perpetual oppressive presence of state authority, Beijing still lacks humanity and will therefore struggle to become a more livable, lively and comfortable city.