1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows: A Memoir

I love going to museums but I'm not very knowledgeable about art, and particularly ignorant about modern art. So, when I first saw this memoir, I was intrigued because I wanted to know more about this person's story but I didn't know who he was. However, I was eager to get to know him.

This is a memoir I can't review. Written for his son, Ai Weiwei documents both his father's and his life in this book and as much as it's about these two people, it's also about living under an authoritarian regime which doesn't believe in freedom of expression. And in such a place, even the existence of the father-son duo and many other such artist activists is a spark that might ignite a fire one day. Their life story might feel bleak, especially his father's life who was wrongfully convicted and exiled for years on end during the cultural revolution, but this is also the story of a family which resiliently survived the oppression and never let go of their artistic expression or principles.

It's both a sad and awe inspiring memoir and I felt small and insignificant after getting to know such artists. The writing itself may feel detached and dry but I think it reflects the author's own feelings about his life and purpose. But all the art interspersed within the text is fascinating and I can't wait to read up more about his installations as well as about his father's poetry.

Half biography of his father - famous Chinese poet Ai Qing - half memoir, Ai Weiwei presents us portraits of two men unwavering in their beliefs and therefore becoming enemies of the state in China. The father during Mao's Cultural Revolution, the son most recently as he chooses political activism as his art platform.