“How long can you suppress the essence of humanity?” queries our Editor-in-Chief Hakim Bishara in his critique of Ai Weiwei’s latest publication, On Censorship. The Chinese artist renowned for his dissenting views presents a “concise yet powerful” exploration of his lifelong battle against governmental oppression, offering timely insights into the detrimental effects of censorship, not only in authoritarian states but also in the ostensibly progressive West.
This edition also features an exploration of a Black Panther family photo album, an insight into the lives of anonymous painters from the Qing dynasty’s Canton trade era, and a semi-autobiographical narrative about an exploitative art instructor.
—Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor
