Man of the people

摘要

This is a preview of a phenomenon as much as of an exhibition. The Royal Academy's autumn blockbuster on the one Chinese contemporary artist everyone has heard of has had a huge build-up since it was announced in 2014. Never mind the art, what about the personality? Would the artist be given back his passport by the always-suspicious Chinese authorities, or would all the planning of the exhibition have to be done remotely? Having got his passport, would he be granted a visa by the British authorities? If so, what kind of visa? And so on.