Ai Wei Wei at Royal Academy

The Chinese dissident artist has been rarely out of the spotlight since his sunflower seeds exhibition in the Turbine Hall. And the most recent presentation of his work is just as thought provoking.

Right from the start, before you even set foot inside the Royal Academy, Ai Wei Wei invites you to interact, and even contribute to his art. You’re greeted by a reconstructed forest and a marble chair. There's also an out of place red 5-series BMW parked by the entrance, where Lego is donated by posting it through a crack in the sunroof - much to the Danish toymaker's disgust.

The concept of involvement and participation is what immediately strikes you. Its collaborative approach breaks away barriers between the hoi polloi visitors and the elitism of the art world.

This carries throughout the entire exhibition. You’re never told not to take photos, touch the displays and there are no guards dotted around the room ready to tell you off.

The other thing that stuck with me was Ai Wei Wei's use of Qing antiques. He carved them up, painted them and even smashed them. A nod to Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution or a simple 'up yours' to the powers who created them - why should these things be less disposable than anything else. In my humble opinion, nothing from the year dot to about 1979 should be touched. I have no beef with recycling or upcycling a table from MFI, but don't go near a G-Plan with a saw. I see this as arrogant - history is learning and artifacts from antiquity are handcrafted from the best materials. These were made out of love and meant to last - butchering them, even for art seems a terrible shame.

Destroying antiquity is something dictatorships do as a mark of superiority or to show the past is worthless. Qing pots are one thing, but temples are quite another. Places of worship tend to be beautiful architecturally and tranquil sanctuaries, regardless of your spiritual persuasions. How is Ai Wei Wei creating an aerial map of China out of antique wooden beams from a 17th Century temple any different from the Chinese government razing his art studio to the ground?

The most profound exhibit was Ai Wei Wei's boxes with peepholes depicting scenes from his illegal 81 day incarceration. It showed interrogations and recreated how he was watched by two soldiers while he slept, used the toilet and showered. The concept of this is harrowing; no privacy at all for nearly three months.

I also learnt an important lesson about myself. I couldn't see everything through the window at the top (strange as the Chinese aren't known for their height), without even giving it a second thought I got out my phone and took a picture so I could see. 

I scrambled to use a technology that's become an extension of me without thinking about the possibility of dropping it inside the installation and the consequences of this. But in that instance, I also realised how we are all part of a surveillance state and with this freedom comes greater responsibility.

Without anyone to tell me no nor a protective glass, my action could've been catastrophic. Is it because I've become an automaton to technology, because I'm so used to being nannied, because I've ceased thinking or because I got over-excited about not having rules. 

Ironically, an installation about China's brutal surveillance state taught me a lesson about modernity. We scoff at China for imprisoning people who challenge the state (like Ai Wei Wei), for banning Twitter and limiting YouTube, while we sit on our high horses showing everyone our food, telling everyone what we're watching on TV and illustrating how far we've run through the social media platforms and apps at our fingertips. Access to snuff or child pornography websites is the palm of our hands - even though making these things are immoral and break the law. Aren't we superior!

Instead of being watched by GCHQ to see if I'm an enemy of the state, I'm watched by a potential 8 billion people through Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and even this blog. Nothing is to stop me posting pictures of strangers on the street without their knowledge for mocking among other strangers who become peers. And I too am laid bare for you to judge, ridicule, screen shot, repost and abuse both directly and behind my back. And all because of the ultimate piece of surveillance equipment. Our smartphones.

I'm pretty sure Ai Wei Wei's art was supposed to anger me at the mistreatment by the authorities of a man who's simply making art. It also made me want to turn my back on all types of tyranny, especially technological ones, as it stops you from thinking and dehumanise you.

Ai Wei Wei is a true artivist (see what I did there). He challenged my perception of modern life by opening my eyes to the paradox of society and system of countries who claim to be free and those who are proudly totalitarian.