Customers that want to build a public display from Lego bricks now will have to only make clear the company is not endorsing their project added the statement from the company.
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Lego’s decision to refuse Ai’s request angered the artist, who accused the company of censorship and discrimination, and of attempting to define political art.
Ai’s supporters had donated Lego bricks to him in various countries, and the artist said discussions online about Lego’s refusal to sell bricks for the Melbourne artwork had pressured the company.
The toy building brick maker said in future, it will not ask its clients about the goal of the purchase.
Lego won’t block bulk orders anymore. After all, Ai Weiwei had used Lego before.
It wasn’t clear if Ai is now repeating his Lego order and pressing on with his project with Lego.
Lego had said in October it had a long-running policy of not fulfilling bulk orders or donating bricks if they knew they would be used as part of a “political agenda”. His accusation has some merit: KIRKBI, the private Danish company that owns the Lego brand also owns a significant amount of shares in Merlin Entertainment, the British company that operates Legolands around the world.
He used Lego bricks to create portraits of political activists from around the world during a 2014 exhibition on freedom of expression at the famous U.S. island prison of Alcatraz, in San Francisco Bay.
‘However, those guidelines could result in misunderstandings or be perceived as inconsistent, and the Lego Group has therefore adjusted the guidelines for sales of Lego bricks in very large quantities’.
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Ai set up “Lego collection points” in different cities, and ended up making a new series of artworks based on the incident as a commentary on freedom of speech and political art.
