"Ai is bailed, I am so exited. 81 days waiting, 81 days darkness is over soon," said one of his studio assistants on the Twitter network, "The light in the darkness is ignited again to lead us ahead." Anish Kapoor, the sculptor who last week cancelled plans to exhibit in China during next year's UK Now cultural exchange between Britain and China, said he was "absolutely delighted" to hear of Mr Ai's release but would await further developments before changing his position.