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News
Street Roots • Dec 1-5-21, 2017
News
Street Roots • Dec 15-21,2017
“ Borders are like physical mountains
and rivers. They w ill not disappear any
lim e soon. However, there are even
more severe borders in people's hearts
and minds, which can stop humanity's
a b ility to come together as one,"
■ .
- AI WEIWEI
The Chinese activist,
dissident, artist and exile’s
new film “H um an Flow”
focuses on the people the
world would rather forget
BY STEVEN MACKENZIE
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R ITE R
n his debut feature, “Human Flow,” Chinese
artist Ai Weiwei stylishly documents the
greatest migration of humanity in modern
history. The conceptual artist takes viewers
along the migrant’s journey from the decision to
abandon all that is known to find a place to
survive.
The project spans nearly two dozen countries,
and is a provocative record Weiwei hopes will
push people into action.
Street Roots’ sister paper Big Issue UK sat
down with Weiwei to talk about the film and his
connection to the plight of refugees the world
over.
I
The Big Issu e: How did people become scared of
refugees?
Ai W eiwei: There is no one who willingly leaves
their home. No one gives up everything they are
familiar with, such as their language or religion,
without being compelled by force. Every refugee in
this world is forced out, like a tree pulled out of
the ground by a storm. We see how tragic nature
can appear after a large storm passes through. The
human tragedy is a hundred times greater since we
can share the sadness and hardships those people
experience. We can see how those men, women
and children have lost their life support and safety;
we can see that they are seeking shelter, but
cannot find one. We also see people intentionally
turning their faces away and come up with all
kinds of reasons to not act. The only conclusion
that can be drawn is that there is a lot of
inhumanity, cowardice, and selfishness within us.
B.I.: Can the arts and artists change the world
more than politics and politicians?
A.W.: Art is very important as a mental activity
because it relates to the health of morality and
philosophy. The understanding of art can
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P H O T O S C O U R T E S Y O F A I W E IW E I/H U M A N F L O W
Scenes from “Human Flow. ” Above, Khan Unis, a refugee in Gaza. Below, filmmaker Weiwei with a refugee in Lesvos, Greece. Above right, aid workers help refugees out of the Red Sea. Below right, Nizip Camp, Gaziantep, Turkey.
profoundly affect a human’s emotions, behavior and
rational judgment. Without art, the condition of
rationality would be poor and not reflect human
emotions. In that sense, art does not only change
society, but is the main ingredient of one.
faster than other places during the last
hundred years. Science and creativity,
knowledge and imagination, have been well
protected and nurtured. More importantly,
those social ideologies and benefits must
come back to an individual. An individual is
not only someone who initiates a better
understanding, but is also a beneficiary of
that understanding.
B.I.: People know there is a migration crisis going
on but these problems can feel far away. How can we
connect with them?
A. W.: The best qualities we have are empathy
and the ability to help others. Humanity becomes
an empty word when those qualities are not
applied. There have always been people who are
unfortunate or victimized by those who profit from
the established system. Only by creating an
understanding that humanity is one - that it needs
to be shared and protected by everyone - can we
begin to improve this situation.
B. I.: Once a society has established human rights
and freedom of speech, does it inevitably forget about
others still fighting for theirs?
A.W.: The world is divided, and not only because
of territory, religious differences or economic
inequality. It is also divided in its understanding of
humanity’s needs. Without being well-informed or
really understanding the true human condition,
there can be no challenge of our own ideology.
That ideology - if it has any value - must be
challenged. Liberty and freedom are not empty
words. They are values that not only need
protecting, but redefinition - a new context and
new meaning. There is no such thing as liberty or
freedom; we inject the meaning. This requires
every generation and every individual’s effort.
B.I.: B ut do individuals have any power?
A.W.: The individual has the ultimate power in
deciding their fate and the kind of society they live
in. This thinking is why the West has developed
B.I.: A t the moment there is the biggest
displacement of people since World War II - is
the world currently waging a war of a different
kind, not always to do with conflict but
concerning inequality, prejudice and the
environment?
'■ A.W.: We can see there is a war waged
against human values. By sacrificing the
weakest and most vulnerable people - those
who are poorly educated, displaced, and
powerless - this is a challenge to civilization,
our functioning democratic societies and our
vision of the future for humans. This is
probably the biggest challenge humans have
ever met; less obvious than bloodshed, but
one that has left a deep psychic wound.
B.I.: Would the costs of helping be eclipsed by
the price we’d have to pay by not helping?
A. W.: The true cost of not helping is not
simply leaving those in need in the dark,
rather you can see the deterioration of
human society. You can see the best parts of
the human mind wasted due to short
sightedness, profit-seeking, cowardice and
selfishness. This is truly tragic for an
individual and society.
B. I.: Is the concept of borders between
different areas of land absurd?
A.W.: There will always be borders as long
as there are rich and poor and as long as
there are fast-developing nations and those
that are less motivated. Borders are like
physical mountains and rivers. They will not
disappear any time soon. However, there are
even more severe borders in people’s hearts
and minds, which can stop humanity’s ability
to come together as one.
Courtesy o f INSP.ngo / The Big Issue UK
bigissue.com @BigIssue