Button Up!, with Ai Weiwei.

One of the more memorable books I’ve read in recent years was 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows, a memoir by Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei that takes us though his humble beginnings in China, and on to his ascendancy in the art world, his detention and subsequent activism. This morning I had the opportunity to photograph with Ai Weiwei at his monumental new show, Button Up!, in Manchester.