Artist Ai Weiwei “banned” from using LEGO

Chinese artist says toy company told him it ‘cannot approve the use of LEGO for political works’ ahead of exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria writes the Guardian.

Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei says Danish toymaker Lego has refused his studio’s request for a bulk order of the plastic toys on political grounds.

In an Instagram post on Friday evening, the artist said Lego had refused the bulk order in September, quoting the company as saying it “cannot approve the use of Legos for political works”.

In September Lego refused Ai Weiwei Studio’s request for a bulk order of Legos to create artwork to be shown at the National Gallery of Victoria as “they cannot approve the use of Legos for political works.” On Oct 21, a British firm formally announced that it will open a new Legoland in Shanghai as one of the many deals of the U.K.-China “Golden Era.”

A photo posted by Ai Weiwei (@aiww) on Oct 23, 2015 at 6:04am PDT

The artist’s accusation follows news earlier today that British firm Merlin Entertainments will open a Legoland park in Shanghai in conjunction with a Chinese partner. That announcement, timed to coincide with Chinese president Xi Jinping’s state visit to the UK, seems to have prompted the artist’s Instagram post.