Badiucao: Chinese dissident artist on censorship, exile, and Ai Weiwei

In an interview with Artribune, Chinese dissident artist Badiucao (born 1986, Shanghai) recounts the Chinese government's attempts to boycott his exhibition 'La Cina non è vicina' at the Museo di Santa Giulia in Brescia, Italy. He describes receiving an official letter from the Chinese government threatening future collaborations, an online hate campaign, and 'soft warnings' from Chinese nationals posing as supporters. He was forced to change hotels daily. Badiucao, who lives in self-exile in Australia after renouncing his Chinese citizenship, discusses his shift from law studies to art under the mentorship of Ai Weiwei. He reveals that his family in China remains at risk, and he avoids contacting them to protect them. He talks about his proposal to create a tankman emoji for Twitter to commemorate the Tiananmen massacre, and his plans for NFT projects using blockchain to prevent censorship. He criticizes both Chinese propaganda and Western human rights shortcomings, and considers moving to Europe or the US. He reflects on Italian culture, noting the prevalence of tags on historic architecture as vandalism but also a cultural phenomenon.