You see so many people doing quite nice and respectful work, but nobody like Warhol. Warhol is outstanding. I think he has a value that is far from fully understood. He's very special for younger generations.

I think art is a very important weapon to achieve human freedom

The deadly weapon against totalitarian society is openness - doing everything very openly on the Internet, letting people know every detail, any little development. Once it is out there, everybody can make their own judgement. [Therefore] holding a trial outside the court. I think that is fairness, that is justice, that is a civil society. Otherwise call it an evil society because everything is hidden.

I always thought that in modern history Chinese people are like a dish of sand, never really close together. But I think a dish of sand is a good metaphor because we have the Internet. We don't have to be physically united. You can be an individual and have your own set of values but join others in certain struggles. There is nothing more powerful than that.

I think optimism is whether you are still exhilarated by life, whether you are curious, whether you still believe there is possibility.

I think my stance and my way of life is my most important art.

I think it’s a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression and to use any way to extend this power.

I think by shattering it we can create a new form, a new way to look at what is valuable—how we decide what is valuable.

I have to speak out for people around me who are afraid, who think it is not worth it or who have totally given up hope. So I want to set an example: you can do it and this is okay, to speak out.