James Doherty Blog 7

The Nest Olympic Stadium by Ai Weiwei. I don’t so much like or dislike the nest but find the story behind it interesting. Ai Weiwei helped design the building but publicly
came out against the Olympics and the stadium. His objections stem from the contradiction of the Olympic dream and the state of affairs in China at the time. While the Olympics symbolize freedom and unity, in China they came with security crackdowns, the relocation of the poor (1.5 million) to build the necessary buildings, and keeping up of authoritarian control by the government. For Ai it represents regret. As a dissident, this building represents his personal failings, instead of speaking out for the evicted and using his voice to attempt to bring about change, he designs the monument to be built atop their old homes.