Ai Weiwei's photograph on Instagram with the caption: "Brave man from Afghanistan". image courtesy of aiww/Instagram

The Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has set up a studio on the Greek island of Lesbos to document the life of refugess with photographs and videos on his social media. Lesbos Island is on the verge of explosion, witnessing thousands of Greek refugees and the island is currently hosting 17,000 refugees in its capital, which is a tragic condition for all immigrants and mostly coming from Syria. 

Weiwei’s captions prove an insight to the lives of the men, women and children who make the tragic journey from countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Somalia and the Yemen to build a better life in Europe. “Lovely boy from Syria at the refugee camp,” shown in photograph of Weiwei. “Brave man from Afghanistan,” shown in other picture. 

Over the past year and Weiwei's studio produces many projects with themes related to the refugee crisis from him and his students, Ai told reporters mentioned in The Guardian. “As an artist, I have to relate to humanity’s struggles ... I never separate these situations from my art,” he said. The artist is as well-known for his clashes with the Chinese authorities as for his work. “The border is not in Lesbos, it really [is] in our minds and in our hearts ,” Ai said. Here, you can find some photographs of refugees revealing a single man or child face and the refugee's camps, showing the families escaping from war in their homes including the countries of Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia. 

> via theartnewspaper.com

“As an artist, I have to relate to humanity’s struggles ... I never separate these situations from my art,” he said. The artist is as well-known for his clashes with the Chinese authorities as for his work.