Last month, Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei made headlines when he called out Danish toy company LEGO for its “censorship and discrimination”, when they refused to sell him a large order of their iconic coloured bricks, on the grounds that they do not support the use of its products for “any political, religious, racist, obscene or defaming statements.” In retaliation, Ai Wei Wei has launched an attack on social media, by posting over 40 images of famous political activists and religious figures all made out of LEGO, with the aim of sharing 10 images each day for 18 days. “What we’re doing is fighting for very basic human values,” said the artist, “such as freedom of speech and human rights.” So far the artist has posted portraits of Buddhist monk Thich Quang Do, Egyptian blogger Ahmed Douma, and Nobel Prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi, and you can expect many more to come.
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Text Tish Weinstock