Dissident artist Ai Weiwei explores the corrosive nature of state control and self-restraint in his new book, "On Censorship" (2026). Drawing from a lifetime of persecution—including his father’s exile to a labor camp, his own 81-day detention in 2011, and recent digital erasure by Chinese AI—Ai argues that censorship fundamentally strips individuals of their humanity. He highlights how the mechanism of silencing has evolved from overt state violence in the East to a more insidious culture of self-censorship in the West, exemplified by the cancellation of his own 2023 exhibition at Lisson Gallery following comments on the conflict in Gaza.
This publication serves as a critical intervention at a moment when global cultural institutions are increasingly accused of political timidity. By linking the experiences of high-profile figures like filmmaker Wim Wenders to the plight of student protesters, Ai posits that the survival of a creative society depends on the refusal to participate in fear. The book asserts that the power of censorship relies entirely on the complicity of the silenced, suggesting that the system only collapses when individuals reclaim their right to speak regardless of the professional or personal cost.