I was upset to hear tonight that Ai Wei Wei – China’s best-known artist and creator of Tate Modern’s “sunflower seeds” installation –has been put under house arrest, according to the main TV news. I found his latest installation at the Tate Modern highly unusual, but enjoyable. I never saw it, but, having such poor balance due to the personal effects of meningitis, I wonder how it was tolerated for so long under health and safety practices.

Ai Weiwei said today that he has been placed under house arrest because he planned a huge party to mark the demolition of his newly built Shanghai studio. Ai (???)  tweeted today that national security officers had visited him to say he could not leave his home in Beijing until midnight on Sunday – the day he was due to hold the event.