Jake Chapman criticizes Ai Weiwei's approach to refugee crisis, donates lifeboat anonymously

Jake Chapman, one half of the Chapman Brothers and a founding member of the Young British Artists, has publicly criticized Ai Weiwei for what he calls a 'pathetic' aestheticization of migrants' misery. In contrast, Chapman donated an Atlantic 75 lifeboat worth €32,000 to volunteers on Lesbos, Greece, through a charity run by Irish curator Jude Bennett, insisting on anonymity until his name emerged from press leaks. Chapman argues that states, not individuals, bear primary responsibility for the crisis, and that buying the boat was 'the least I could do'. The donation has significantly impacted rescue operations on Lesbos, the very island where Ai Weiwei collects life jackets for his installations.