It is powerful and interesting, a unique blend of historical fact, memoir, and philosophical thoughts. In November 2010, he was placed under house arrest after the authorities suddenly authorised the demolition of his newly built studio in Shanghai.

In New York he did sidewalk art in Greenwich Village for handouts, befriended Allen Ginsberg (who admired his father’s poetry), enjoyed what he describes as “a boundless expanse of aimless and unstructured life,” and learned from Andy Warhol’s example how to arm himself with a camera as a way to document the moment, the political protests, the police violence, and the counterculture around him to bear witness to injustice. Inspired by the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac and their associated human characteristics, Ai Weiwei masterfully interweaves ancient Chinese folklore with stories of his life, family, and career.Neon lights will be delivered in 2-4 weeks, as they are made in small batches and shipped separately from other items. Years of Joys and Sorrows touches on the inevitable contradictions of being an activist and an art superstar, but it is above all a story of inherited resilience, strength of character and self-determination. To someone with an independent streak, this incessant surveillance means that life itself is like a term of penal servitude.

Here, for the first time, Ai Weiwei explores the origins of his exceptional creativity and passionate political beliefs through his life story and that of his father, whose creativity was stifled. Here, for the first time, Ai Weiwei explores the origins of his exceptional creativity and passionate political beliefs through his life story and that of his father, whose creativity was stifled. He met, and briefly befriended, Allen Ginsberg, a champion of his father’s poetry, and for a time shared a loft with the performance artist Tehching Hsieh who happened to be spending a year tied to fellow artist Linda Montano with an 8ft rope.During those long weeks in secret detention, my fear was not that I might not be able to see my son again, but that I might not have the chance to let him really know me. He endured many hardships and in spite of, or because of, that Ai Weiwei became an activist, using his art to speak for the rights of people. Hans Werner Holzwarth is a book designer and editor specializing in contemporary art and photography. Ai clearly relishes the publicity these confrontations afford him and he makes no huge effort to ingratiate himself with the reader.

His statement informs this comprehensive book that features sculptural installations, photographs, and videos from every aspect of the artist’s forty-year career and touches on many contemporary social issues. As readers delve deeper into the beautifully illustrated pages of Zodiac, they will find not only a personal history of Ai Weiwei and an examination of the sociopolitical climate in which he makes his art, but a philosophical exploration of what it means to find oneself through art and freedom of expression. Ai Weiwei’s blunt language and defiant actions were so offensive to the party that in 2011 he was detained as he tried to board a flight for Taipei. A piece of theatre that is both a public service and an absorbing, imaginative response' Whatsonstage. the internet had become my ocean,” and, released from jail, “a ball that had jumped out of a spinning roulette wheel.

By the very absence of explicit guidance, a spiritual connection was forged between us; Father, in his own way, protected me.