Artist Ai Weiwei ordered a bulk of Lego bricks for his upcoming art show at the National Gallery of Victoria in Australia, but Lego denied his order, according to The Guardian.
Weiwei is a Chinese activist who uses his artwork to draw attention to injustices in China, noted the Associated Press. He is writing a memoir that includes confrontations with the Chinese government, which detained him for 81 days in 2011.
Since Weiwei is well-known for both his art and his politics, Lego refused to sell him its bricks based on its policy not to associate the iconic toy bricks with politics, reported Mashable.
The Chinese artist posted on his Instagram account Lego's response to his order.
"In September Lego refused Ai Weiwei Studio's request for a bulk order of Legos to create artwork to be shown at the National Gallery of Victoris as 'they cannot approve the use of Legos for political works," stated Weiwei's Instagram account.
In the past the artist used Lego bricks to create political artwork, noted Mashable. The company's refusal to sell Weiwei bricks for this new exhibit concerns his fans.
"While we by principle cannot comment on the dialogue we have with our customers, partners, consumers or other stakeholders, I would like to clarify that we respect any individuals' right to free creative expression," Roar Trangbaek, press officer of the Lego Group, told Mashable.
The Danish toymaker is expanding its presence in China, according to The Guardian. It invested a "three-digit million euro figure" into a manufacturing plant in Jiaxing to meet the Asian market's demand for its products.
On social media many are referring to this event as "#Legogate." Lego is standing by Trangbaek's statement.
"Any individual person can naturally purchase or get access to LEGO bricks in other ways to create their LEGO projects if they desire to do so, but as a company, we choose to refrain from engaging in these activities, through for example bulk purchase," the company said.
