Use Ai Weiwei’s Middle Finger To Flip The Bird Anywhere Around The World
Ah, the middle finger—the wordless, universally understood symbol of frustration and anger. And if there’s one artist that’s utilized this “tool” across the decades, it’s Ai Weiwei.
Since the mid-90s, the famed figure has been flipping the bird at many a global landmark in a show of defiance against widespread oppression and censorship. Study of Perspective first began at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, in protest of the hundreds of students killed in 1989.
Since then, the artist has demonstrated the same gesture at monuments around the world, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the White House in the United States. Now, he is giving everyone a chance to use his finger to do the exact same thing—but online.
In collaboration with online art platform Avant Arte, Middle Finger is a project that allows users to take Ai’s recognizable middle finger to any place on Google Maps’ street view, inviting the world to “share their own perspective on power.”
Users can either navigate the special Google Maps link and add images to the collective archive, or download still and moving versions of cut-outs to use in real life. Beyond just a surface-level provocation, the gesture hopes to assert the importance of expressing individual beliefs.
“We often forget that we have a middle finger. Or even if we know we have a middle finger, we misuse it. I think it’s good to remember that this part of your body can point to something—an institution, or someone that resembles a power—to let them know, and let yourself know, that you exist,” Ai was quoted as saying.
The project ties in with the artist’s latest exhibition to be held at the Design Museum in London. On March 30, a limited-edition set of silkscreen prints will be launched to commemorate the showcase, featuring newly-composed artwork centered around—you guessed it—the bird.
For more information on the upcoming exhibition, which will run from April 7 to July 30, head here.
[via Hyperallergic and Ai Weiwei & Avant Arte, images via Wirestock | Dreamstime.com and Ai Weiwei & Avant Arte]
