I lived there [ in New York City] as an artist, but never as a Chinese artist.

We should use this public sphere and redefine - beyond China's borders - what a government is allowed to do, where its powers end and where the realm of a citizen's privacy begins.

I was an illegal alien for many, many years. I couldn't move. If I moved I could not even get a visa back.

If human rights are supposed to have any meaning, then they have to be discussed openly.

I think art certainly is the vehicle for us to develop any new ideas, to be creative, to extend our imagination, to change the current conditions.

Nationality started as something natural, but we should not be restrained by the old politics that make up these clear lines. It should have its own way of evolving. In some places, it will evolve slower and in others, faster. It's like the mountains, the ocean and the rivers. It has its own geological forms. Societies cannot be flat. But during change, human rights, human dignity and free speech have to be protected. Otherwise, we'll be going backward.

Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it. I don’t feel that much anger. I equally have a lot of joy.