Ai Weiwei goes 'Gangnam Style' - with handcuffs

The Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei is the latest to go Gangnam Style

The dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei dances with his friends as they make a cover version of music video of Gangnam Style. Reuters
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The Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei is the latest to go Gangnam Style - but in a trademark act of irreverence: he's thrown in a pair of handcuffs.

In a video titled Grass Mud Horse Style, posted on YouTube, Ai sports a neon-pink T-shirt, black jacket and dark sunglasses and energetically mimics rodeo-style dance moves made famous by the South Korean rapper Psy, whose original video became an Internet sensation.

In one scene, he swings two pairs of handcuffs while dancing. The video also was posted on Chinese websites, but censors apparently had scrubbed off many of them by Thursday morning.

Ai said in an interview that he decided to make the video after learning that the family of his friend Zuoxiao Zuzhou, a famous rock star in China, was losing their home to a demolition crew. The artist said he thought a little humour could alleviate some of the frustration felt by the Chinese public.

"Our happiness is constantly being taken away from us, our homes demolished, we are always controlled, passports can be taken away from us, and all these can affect our happiness," Ai said. "However, every morning we have the opportunity to give others something to laugh about. Laughter is important." - AP