Artist Ai Weiwei warns against hubris in ‘troublesome’ times

By COLLEEN BARRY
Associated Press

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Chinese dissident and artist Ai Weiwei lampoons the surveillance state and social media with his first glass sculpture, made on the Venetian island of Murano. Titled “The Human Comedy: Memento Mori,” the sculpture is the centerpiece of Ai’s exhibit opening in Venice on Sunday. The work is the artist’s warning to the world, since its title is Latin for “Remember You Must Die.” The massive piece is suspended over the central nave of the church of San Giorgio Maggiore. The artwork is replete with glass icons: intricately hung skeletons and skulls, both human and animal; scattered likenesses of the Twitter bird logo and surveillance cameras.