In Shanghai, the studio of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was demolished

Shanghai (China) - Chinese workers demolished a new studio of the world-renowned artist Ai Weiwei in Shanghai. The destruction of the studio is linked to his political activism, reported the BBC News today. Ai Weiwei stated that a demolition team arrived at the studio without warning on Tuesday and leveled it during the day.
    Demolition work started at night, and Ai Weiwei reportedly flew to Shanghai from Beijing as quickly as he could. However, it was too late to prevent the destruction of the studio, valued at over a million dollars. Initially, he received permission to build the studio, but later the authorities ordered its demolition, claiming he had not followed the necessary construction procedures.
    Fifty-three-year-old Ai Weiwei is among the most famous and simultaneously most controversial Chinese artists. He participated in the design of the Bird's Nest Stadium for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, but later distanced himself from the games, stating that the government was using them merely for propaganda. His work often carries a political subtext, and Ai has repeatedly clashed with Chinese authorities because of this.
    Ai Weiwei told the BBC news station that the demolition of the building started at night because the authorities feared it would attract unwanted attention. In November of last year, more than 400 of Ai's supporters protested against the planned demolition of the studio. Ai Weiwei himself was under house arrest in Beijing at that time.
    Last year, Ai Weiwei presented an installation at the Tate Modern gallery in London, in which he had 150 tons of porcelain sunflower seeds brought into the huge hall of the gallery. The hand-painted seeds were made over two years by 1,600 glassblowers in the Chinese city of Jingdezhen. Sunflower seeds are a popular and inexpensive snack in China, but they also have several other meanings, ranging from references to government propaganda to expressions of Chinese solidarity.