Ai Weiwei art project in Berlin features refugee life vests

BERLIN (AP) — An art installation by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in Berlin showcases thousands of used life vests by refugees from the Greek island of Lesbos.

The bright orange vests were wrapped around the pillars of the city’s Konzerthaus by the artist’s team Saturday to highlight the plight of the hundreds of refugees trying to reach Europe every day by sea from Turkey.

Municipal authorities on Lesbos said they’d given some 14,000 life vests to Ai for his art project. Ai has repeatedly visited Lesbos since the refugee crisis started.

Tens of thousands of life vests remain strewn on the island’s beaches and at a landfill near its north coast where most landings occur.