- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
Ai Weiwei warns of 'shaking foundation' of democracy
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has revealed the "shaking foundation" of democracy, Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei said as he unveiled what he said was the biggest retrospective of his work to date.
Reflecting on the war and the massive refugee crisis it has created, Ai expressed fears for "our... so-called peaceful life since World War Two"
"Suddenly we feel the... foundation is shaking of democracy and freedom," he told journalists in Vienna Tuesday.
He was speaking at the Albertina Modern gallery where the show, "In Search of Humanity", opens Wednesday.
While condemning Russia's invasion of its neighbour as "unacceptable", Ai expressed concern about increasing global divisions. A "Cold War psychology is not going to work", he said.
The new exhibition, which he described as "critical and radical", displays several works that are responses to the experiences of those fleeing war and persecution.
There is a striking arrangement of life jackets found on the shores of the Greek island of Lesbos, arranged around a giant crystal ball in a lotus-like installation.
That piece is also typical of the monumental nature of much of the work on show, which comprises more than 50 tonnes of material.
None of his previous shows, he said, had had such broad coverage of his work. It charts the evolution of his artistic work and political activism over several decades.
- Dystopian dolls' houses -
What Ai calls the current "crisis of human rights and freedom of speech" is starkly portrayed in a life-size replica of the cell where he was held and interrogated after his 2011 arrest by the Chinese police.
A set of dioramas beside it depict scenes from his interrogation, like dystopian dolls' houses.
Some of his more recent works, such as the treadmill used by his friend Julian Assange during his stay at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, are perhaps not the easiest to read. Others however, pack a more direct emotional punch.
A huge installation makes use of twisted rebars salvaged from a school destroyed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, which killed more than 80,000 people.
The work stands as a testament to the thousands of children killed when poorly constructed school buildings collapsed.
Irreverence and humour are also on display, such as in the series of photos of Ai's famous middle finger directed at sites such as the ceremonial gate in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. They are arrayed beneath a four-letter word lit up in neon.
He also makes extensive use of Lego as a medium -- in one case to recreate the Saudi flag.
Instead of the Islamic profession of belief, the flag is emblazoned with the reported last words of journalist Jamal Khashoggi during his 2018 murder in Istanbul's Saudi consulate: "I can't breathe".
The show runs until September 4.
T.Vitorino--PC