The Danish toy company has agreed to fulfil a bulk order for the Chinese artist after previously declining on “political grounds.”

Popular Danish toy company LEGO has agreed to support Chinese artist Ai Weiwei after facing a critical backlash from consumers last year. The controversy began when Ai Weiwei told the world that he’d been denied a bulk order of LEGO for use in the exhibition Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei, currently showing at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. One of Weiwei’s largest pieces features portraits made out of LEGO of prominent Australian human rights activists, including Australian of the Year and anti-domestic violence campaigner Rose Batty, previously imprisoned journalist Peter Greste, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and Aboriginal rights activist Gary Foley.

The Australian LEGO installation was a repeat of similar exhibits by the Chinese artist, whose politically charged artworks have been strongly criticised by his native Government. After LEGO declined the initial order, citing “political grounds,” Weiwei took to social media platform Instagram to voice his thoughts on LEGO’s response: “As a powerful corporation, LEGO is an influential cultural and political actor in the globalised economy with questionable values. LEGO’s refusal...