December 2019
I argue that Ai Weiwei's 2017 film is “almost entirely interested in a sterilized aesthetic of suffering and ends up appropriating the images of refugees to further the international renown of Ai Weiwei as a contemporary artist." I talk about Weiwei's portrayal, the lack of self-awareness or context, extractive documentary power dynamics, and obvious formalized heirarchy.
Written for Joanna Gosse's Contemporary Art.
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