Activist art at Alcatraz

Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist and dissident confined in his country for fighting for human rights. He organized this exhibit and send it here to be assembled for showing. Since much of his work deals with political prisoners, this famous prison was chosen as the site. This photo shows a segment of an installation that features multiple kites strung together to create a single, long multipart kite. The individual kites show stylized birds and flowers found in the natural environs of Alcatraz, an important bird habitat, and reference 30 nations with serious records of restricting their citizens' human rights and civil liberties.