The world as a readymade: a conversation with Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei positions himself first and foremost as a thinker, driven by curiosity even selfishness, not shying away from ridicule. Through immersion direct response to different, unfamiliar conditions, he aims defamiliarize pre-set thinking, letting be trapped rationality led simplified, predetermined conclusions about the world. Despite self-proclaimed selfishness at their core, Ai’s artistic acts become selfless through resonance, inviting viewer into his thought experiments with world, which engages if world were readymade. This conversation departed transnational film Tree (2021), where meticulously documents work of Brazilian Chinese artisans in creating 32-metre iron sculpture Pequi (2018–2020). We began political creative driver for artist, influence Duchamp Warhol, choice audiovisual medium reflect reality. The branched out consider aesthetics, tying issue aestheticization role public intellectual, an earlier refusal aesthetics or ‘beautification’ interest unmediated transparency realization that new are needed publics.