NATIONAL BESTSELLER • In this beautifully illustrated and deeply philosophical graphic memoir
legendary artist Ai Weiwei explores the connection between artistic expression and intellectual
freedom through the lens of the Chinese zodiac. As a child living in exile during the Cultural
Revolution Ai Weiwei often found himself with nothing to read but government-approved comic
books. Although they were restricted by the confines of political propaganda Ai Weiwei was
struck by the artists’ ability to express their thoughts on art and humanity through graphic
storytelling. Now decades later Ai Weiwei and Italian comic artist Gianluca Costantini
present Zodiac Ai Weiwei’s first graphic memoir. Inspired by the twelve signs of the Chinese
zodiac and their associated human characteristics Ai Weiwei masterfully interweaves ancient
Chinese folklore with stories of his life family and career. The narrative shifts back and
forth through the years—at once in the past present and future—mirroring memory and our
relationship to time. As readers delve deeper into the beautifully illustrated pages of Zodiac
they will find not only a personal history of Ai Weiwei and an examination of the
sociopolitical climate in which he makes his art but a philosophical exploration of what it
means to find oneself through art and freedom of expression. Contemplative and political
Zodiac will inspire readers to return again and again to Ai Weiwei’s musings on the
relationship between art time and our shared humanity.
