Censorship Of COVID-19 Information In China Is Responded To The Shut Up Action Of Critical Artist Nut Brother

Nut Brother (Instagram/@nutbros)

JAKARTA - A Chinese artist named Nut Brother has held his mouth shut for 30 days to protest the government's censorship of important information related to COVID-19. The censorship has Chinese citizens worried about playing.

Launched by Reuters, in the action titled # shutupfor30day, the 39-year-old artist uses a lot of materials to cover his mouth. Sometimes Brother Nut uses metal tongs, hand nests, duct tape, to a mask with the words "shut up".

In his most recent stunt, Nut Brother covered his mouth with duct tape that reads “404” which is known as an access error code for a web page. In fact, the code is a form of blocking sensitive information by the government during the virus outbreak from Wuhan.

It's not just the COVID-19 case. Nut Brother also protested the government's habit of eliminating dissent. "If you ask me how an artist should digest unfair treatment, such as violence or censorship, my first reaction is to keep fighting with art," said Nut Brother.

Chinese Artist Holds His Tongue With Metal Clasps for 30 Days to Protest Pandemic Censorship # shutupfor30days ... pic.twitter.com/Gr1lUCYhr6

- KhabarUttarakhandKi (@UttarakhandKi) July 20, 2020

Nut Brother also alluded to his anger at the police for discrediting the figure of Li Wenliang, the doctor who warned of the corona virus outbreak in China. The police called Wenliang a liar. The spreader of anxiety. Wenliang, who has now died from COVID-19, has recently been considered a symbol of the resistance to COVID-19 by Chinese citizens.

"Sometimes I feel like my job is similar to that of an activist or journalist. That is, I try to raise awareness about social problems and take a movement to deal with them," he said.

Nut Brother previously carried out a stunt walk in Beijing by turning on a battery-powered vacuum cleaner to suck up polluted air. Not only that. In 2018, to get the government's attention, Nut Brother brought a heavy metal band to play music in a village polluted with heavy metal.

Thanks to this action, the local environmental authorities began investigating the cause of the contamination in the village. “We need artistic expression anytime and anywhere. Art is like a flower growing in a crack, which is proof that we dance at the most difficult times, "he said.