Toy company Lego has been attacked by Ai Weiwei, the controversial Chinese artist, in a spat over the Danish group’s refusal to provide a bulk order of its plastic building blocks for an upcoming exhibition in Australia.
Mr Ai has of late embroiled himself in a series of public confrontations with foreign institutions, including the UK government and some western journalists, after years of sparring with the Chinese government over human rights and freedom of speech.
On Friday he published a picture on his Instagram account showing Lego’s refusal of his request for a bulk order for an exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. Mr Ai’s followers on Twitter have since taken up his cause, with some pledging to donate their own childhood Lego sets to his exhibition.