Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has slammed the censorship imposed by Lego after the Danish toy building brick company denied the artist the use of its bricks in an upcoming exhibition owing to its dissenting political content.

Ai Weiwei has condemned this restriction by Lego, calling it “censorship and discrimination.” Lego reportedly rejected a bulk order that was placed for WeiWei’s artwork exhibition based on political rebels.

The artist took to Twitter on Friday to lash out at Lego’s rejection. He tweeted,

 

A photo posted by Ai Weiwei (@aiww) on

The toymaker company’s spokesman Roar Rude Trangbæk has confirmed to The Guardian that the order was rejected on “political grounds” but the company does not intend to ban the use of its products for artworks as it respects the right of “free creative expression.”

After being denied by Lego, Weiwei received numerous offers and help from his supporters. He has crafted several sculptural installations along with woodwork and photography. His work "Ai Weiwei: According to What," is amongst the most successful visual art works, travelling from Hirshhorn in Washington, D.C. to Brooklyn Museum, New York and other venues in the United States.

According to reports, Lego is constructing a new factory in China that will be opened in 2017. Chinese president Xi Linping recently made an announcement of the contract to build a new Legoland in China. It is suspected that Weiwei has taken a dig at Linping with the above post.

The artist also thanked his supporters for their love on Twitter.

The exhibition “Andy Warhol Ai Weiwei” is scheduled to open at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia on Dec. 11.

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