Back in 2011, Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei was mysteriously imprisoned for 81 days by the government and he hasn’t forgotten about the state’s abuse of power. Ai released a new video earlier this week protesting the government, complete with a reenactment of how he was treated in prison.
The video for “Dumbass” was posted on Tuesday and features the artist singing with heavy metal music in the background. His lyrics are filled with profanity, according to The BBC. Some of the lyrics that can be reprinted include, “Stand on the frontline like a dumbass, in a country that puts out like a hooker... tolerance be damned, to hell with manners, the low-life's invincible.”
In an interview with The New York Times, Ai said that the video is not specifically about his experience in prison. “It’s about the whole condition,” he explained. “It’s not really about me. I think it’s about how the power of the state tries to manage and maintain this kind of control.”
Ai wrote the lyrics and a friend, musician Zuoxiao Zuzhou, added the music. The track is expected to be released on The Divine Comedy, an album Ai is planning to put out on June 22. That’s the second anniversary of his release from prison.
The artist recruited noted cinematographer Christopher Doyle to shoot the video.
Halfway through the five-minute video, it suddenly shifts to show what his guards were fantasizing about. “Those soldiers secretly asked me about sex and about different things,” Ai told the Times. “They are like prisoners in there... They never can leave the building. And they don’t know what’s going on.”
image: YouTube