United Stated of America, 10.11.2014

Portraits of 176 political prisoners or people expelled from their home countries for their views are the subject of an exhibition which is now on display in the US, within the premises of the 'For-site foundation'. The author of the exhibition is the well-known Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. The exhibits include two portraits of Kazakh activists: Vladimir Kozlov and Roza Tuletayeva.

Weiwei has abandoned the allegory and metaphor and decided to present an actual image of the figures presented in the installations. All of them are people persecuted for their views - either through loss of their freedom or the necessity to leave their homeland. The author himself calls them "heroes of our times".

The exhibition is made of LEGO bricks. Each portrait has been produced manually. Some have originated from the artist's workshop and some are based on his sketches. They were made in San Francisco by more than 80 volunteers.

Choosing the characters for the exhibition, Weiwei used, amongst other things, information from Amnesty International and other human rights organisations.

Source: respublika-kaz.info