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The Internet Is Awesome: Fans Reject Lego’s Political Censorship, Send Bricks To Chinese Artist

Ryan Koronowski Twitter
Ai Weiwei’s Lego installation in a building on Alcatraz Island depicting 176 people who have been jailed or exiled for their political beliefs. CREDIT: FLICKR USER SCOTTHESSPHOTO
Ai Weiwei’s Lego installation in a building on Alcatraz Island depicting 176 people who have been jailed or exiled for their political beliefs. CREDIT: FLICKR USER SCOTTHESSPHOTO

Lego, the Danish maker of brick toys beloved by millions, has refused a bulk order of their product placed by artist Ai Weiwei for an exhibition he was planning on political dissidents and free speech in Australia.

In September, Weiwei said in an Instagram post, Lego refused his order for their bricks because they “cannot approve the use of Legos for political works.”

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Later, Weiwei posted this as his reaction to the decision:

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Roar Rude Trangbæk, a Lego spokesman, told the Guardian that the bulk order had indeed been rejected on political grounds, and the policy was “not new.”

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“Any individual person can naturally purchase or get access to Lego bricks in other ways to create their Lego projects if they desire to do so, but as a company, we choose to refrain from engaging in these activities — through for example bulk purchase,” he said.

“In cases where we receive requests for donations or support for projects — such as the possibility of purchasing Lego bricks in large quantities — where we are made aware that there is a political context, we therefore kindly decline support.”

Social media reaction was predictably “awesome.” Many Lego owners offered to donate their bricks to Weiwei so he could complete his project.

Weiwei said he would accept the donations.

https://twitter.com/aiww_en/status/658243931629617152

Lego’s decision was particularly disappointing to some because of the key, somewhat subversive message contained in last year’s hit, The Lego Movie: anarchic creativity is a treasure and homogenization in private or public life is harmful. Weiwei nodded to this when he tweeted “Lego will tell us what to do, or not to do — that is awesome!” And no one can deny that Legos have been used in political artworks before:

https://twitter.com/OmanReagan/status/658050421542535168

Weiwei has been a longstanding critic of the Chinese Communist Party, and was imprisoned for three months in China after charges of tax evasion. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned it as an “arbitrary arrest and detention.”

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Many saw Weiwei’s campaign of art exhibits and political dissidence as a key reason why the government became more transparent about official data related to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake that killed thousands, including many schoolchildren. Weiwei became upset about accusations from parents that substandard school construction caused the deaths of so many. This was one key focus of a documentary, Never Sorry, that profiled Weiwei in 2012.

His work has been shown around the world, including at the Hirshhorn Gallery, the Smithsonian Institution’s museum focused on modern art.

For its part, Lego sees Asia as a potentially large market, and with demand rising, it pursued a large new factory in China in 2013.

This is not the first time Lego has tangled with political controversy. Last year, Greenpeace criticized the toy company’s marketing partnership with Shell Oil as it attempted to drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean. Lego products were sold in Shell gas stations, and Lego featured Shell-branded toy sets being sold around the world. And of course the plastic bricks are a petroleum product of their own, though the company touted its moves on energy efficiency and renewable energy. The campaign was successful, however, and Lego did not renew the partnership with Shell.