He can’t leave China, but that didn’t stop Chinese artist Ai Weiwie’s work at Alcatraz to go unfinished.

In a photo-essay from the Los Angeles Times, Weiwei’s work is captured in all its glory: portraits of dissidents made out of Legos, piles of white porcelain florals, a winged sculpture made out of Tibetan solar cookers and a series of sound installations, showcasing protest songs from around the world.

@Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz is on display at the infamous prison, despite the artist never being there. He’ll probably never get to visit it, or the United States.

Weiwei’s passport has been revoked since 2011, allegedly for making statements and creating work that is critical of the Chinese government. He is unable to leave China, indefinitely.

That hasn’t stopped the artist from collaborating with people who helped him complete his new series of art installations.

He employed the help of a team of assistants, keeping up with them via Skype. His curator traveled back and forth between China and California, as many times as it took, to make the installation complete.

All of Weiwei’s work emphasizes themes that are personal to him. They often reflect the issues of human rights and free speech. These ideas are prominent in his new Alcatraz work.

Back in 2010, in his first museum exhibition on the West Coast, Weiwei was praised as being “without a doubt, one of the most intelligent makers of negotiating the art/craft divide …” by the contemporary arts publication Daily Serving.

His work, Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn (1995) was shown at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland Oregon to critical acclaim.