Far and wise: Ai Weiwei serves as remote curator

AI WEIWEI IS A MASTER of allegory, so it is no surprise that his latest creative project - curating an exhibition of 13 Hong Kong artists at Duddell's - features his trademark commentary on social and political issues. His role as sole curator included creating bespoke physical frames for each work, he says at his studio in northern Beijing .

The rosewood frames - a hardwood that Ai selected because of its historical popularity in China - recreate partial borders of the country, a conceptual geographical twist he has employed previously. Earlier this year at Hong Kong's Sheung Wan Civic Centre he created a pixilated map of China using 1,800 cans of baby formula to highlight the country's notorious food safety issues.

Ai, 56, is a controversial figure in the art world thanks to his dogged criticism of the Chinese government through provocative conceptual works. These include defacing Neolithic pottery, installations of student's backpacks representing the thousands of children who died in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake due to so-called "tofu construction", and October's outdoor sculpture of 3,144 bicycles in Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square, which was a comment on the dramatic increase in cars and air pollution on the mainland.

His creative political activism has drawn considerable international attention, as well as sharp rebukes from the Chinese authorities. After leading a "citizen's investigation" into the Sichuan earthquake, he was beaten so badly by police in Chengdu that he suffered a brain haemorrhage. He was also imprisoned for 81 days in 2011; his passport has been confiscated, so his travel is restricted, and he remains under close surveillance.

Undaunted, Ai has embraced digital media as a borderless means of communication. Remotely curating an exhibition such as "Framed", which includes a diverse range of genres from mixed media and photography, to paintings and sculpture, was challenging but at least possible, he says. For instance, he is able to participate at the event through a live Twitter feed, which enables discussions with visitors to the show. "We are trying to give people the opportunity to be involved; to share opinions," he says.