Hate a Building? Give It Ai Weiwei's Middle Finger

Artist's latest project lets you virtually flip his bird to anywhere on Google Maps
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 21, 2023 1:35 PM CDT
Travel the Globe With Ai Weiwei's Middle Finger
Dissident Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei pauses at his country house in Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022.   (AP Photo/Ana Brigida)

Virtual middle finger tourism, it's apparently a thing that's come alive in Ai Weiwei's latest—and blatantly profane yet oddly satisfying—new project, called, well, Middle Finger. The gist, as Rhea Nayyar writes at Hyperallergic, is that you can punch in an address anywhere that's on Google Maps and the Chinese dissident artist's somewhat iconic left hand will appear over that address, middle finger clearly demonstrating what both you and he think. You know, for art. "We often forget that we have a middle finger," says Ai. "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.” Go on, punch in your ex's address here. (More Ai Weiwei stories.)

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