The Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is attending an exhibition of his work outside China for the first time in five years. He was granted a passport this July by the Chinese authorities, four years after it was confiscated.<br /><br />Here, he stands among his trees at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
The Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is attending an exhibition of his work outside China for the first time in five years. He was granted a passport this July by the Chinese authorities, four years after it was confiscated.

Here, he stands among his trees at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
Mick Krever/CNN
"Those trees all had a life before," Ai says of the trees, which have been pieced together with bolts.
"Those trees all had a life before," Ai says of the trees, which have been pieced together with bolts.
Mick Krever/CNN
"I sense more and more a responsibility when I become more well-known, when I become more recognized by young people," he told CNN's Christiane Amanpour.
"I sense more and more a responsibility when I become more well-known, when I become more recognized by young people," he told CNN's Christiane Amanpour.
Mick Krever/CNN
"I want to construct it back. But of course it doesn't really belong to one tree. But it was a memory or an image of a tree."
"I want to construct it back. But of course it doesn't really belong to one tree. But it was a memory or an image of a tree."
Mick Krever/CNN
Ai has been unable to travel outside the country since he was detained by authorities under mysterious conditions in 2011. He was issued a passport this July.<br /><br />"We did about 100 exhibitions in [the] past five years, and I never attended one of them."
Ai has been unable to travel outside the country since he was detained by authorities under mysterious conditions in 2011. He was issued a passport this July.

"We did about 100 exhibitions in [the] past five years, and I never attended one of them."
Mick Krever/CNN
The trees, he told CNN's Christiane Amanpour, are "very old. Could be hundreds or even thousands years old."
The trees, he told CNN's Christiane Amanpour, are "very old. Could be hundreds or even thousands years old."
Mick Krever/CNN
Ai is a <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Finstagram.com%2Faiww%2F" target="_blank" target="_blank">prolific user of social media</a>. He is not, he says, an artist who designs for museums.<br />"I design for the people, for communication on [the] Internet; for selfies."
Ai is a prolific user of social media. He is not, he says, an artist who designs for museums.
"I design for the people, for communication on [the] Internet; for selfies."
Mick Krever/CNN
"If you have children, then you have to sense that responsibility.<br />"And if you want their world to be different, then you better be prepared to do something, to bear some responsibility."
"If you have children, then you have to sense that responsibility.
"And if you want their world to be different, then you better be prepared to do something, to bear some responsibility."
Mick Krever/CNN