S.A.C.R.E.D.

During his 80-day prison term, Ai Weiwei was kept under constant surveillance by two security guards who did not leave him for a minute, even in the toilet. This was to humiliate and break the spirit of the rebellious artist, but Weiwei did not give up; after leaving prison, he precisely recreated its surroundings in six large-scale installations. They are rooms with walls and ceilings, which you can look into through special windows. Inside there are people: the artist himself and his guards, engaged in everyday affairs. The work shown at the Venice Biennale demonstrates not only the torment that the artist suffered but also the plight of all the people who suffer from the oppression of the government and unfair restrictions of freedom.