Turner Prize-winning artist Anish Kapoor has made a rousing (and funny!) video in
support of prominent Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.
Amnesty
International activists and various artists gathered at Anish Kapoor’s London studio this
week to shoot a parody of South Korean rapper Psy’s mega hit Gangnam Style film
in support of Ai. Ai’s had done
his own version last month, featuring the original video interspersed with
clips of him and friends doing the popular dance, wearing handcuffs to represent the lack of freedom of
speech in China. The film was immediately
removed from the web by the Chinese authorities.
Kapoor’s parody version, called "Gangnam for Freedom", was
choreographed by Akram Khan, who helped craft the Olympic opening ceremony for
London 2012. Leading figures from the arts, including artists Mark
Wallinger, Bob and Roberta Smith and Tom Phillips, dancers Tamara Rojo and
Deborah Bull, Southbank Centre Director Jude Kelly, made cameo
appearances.
The
video also includes contributions sent from
MoMA, Guggenheim, New Museum, Brooklyn Museum and the Whitney Museum of
American Art in New York; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in
Washington; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego;
Helen Bamber; Hanif Kurieshi, and many others.
Kapoor, who sported a brigh pink T-shirt in the video, said: “Our
film aims to make a serious point about freedom of speech and freedom of
expression. It is our hope that this gesture of support for Ai Weiwei and all
prisoners of conscience will be wide-ranging and will help to emphasize how
important these freedoms are to us all.”
The film has won support from various human rights organizations, among them,
Amnesty, Liberty, Index on Censorship and The Helen Bamber Foundation.
Museums
and organizations around the world will be screening the film, including the ICA who
will be showing the film prior to each feature shown in their cinema from
Friday, for two weeks.
