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Look carefully. A little closer. This is a portrait
of a man trying to blend beautifully into the background.
Whether lurking next to a telephone box or standing to attention at a
cannon, Liu Bolin has made an art of becoming the invisible man.
The Chinese artist is creating more than just startling images with his
works.
He claims they make a statement about his place in society. He sees
himself as an outsider whose artistic efforts are not always valued,
especially in his native country.
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Standing silently in front of his chosen scene, in locations all around
the world, the 36-year-old uses himself as a blank canvas.
Then, with a little help from an assistant, he paints his body to merge
as seamlessly as possible with what is behind him.
It means people walking by while he is carrying out his performances
often have no idea he is nearby until he begins to move.
Liu said he wanted to show how city surroundings affected people living
in them.
He added that the inspiration behind his work was a sense of not fitting
in to modern society and was a silent protest against the persecution of
artists.
He said: 'Some people call me the invisible man, but for me it's what is
not seen in a picture which is really what tells the story.
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'After graduating from school I couldn't find suitable work and I felt
there was no place for me in society.
'I experienced the dark side of society, without social relations, and
had a feeling that no one cared about me, I felt myself unnecessary in
this world.
'From that time, my attitude turned from dependence into revolting
against the system.'
Liu said he was further pushed on with his work when the Chinese
authorities shut down his art studio in Beijing in 2005.
He said: 'At that time, contemporary art was in quick development in
Beijing, but the government decided it did not want artists like us to
gather and live together.
'Also many exhibitions were forced to close.
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'The situation for artists in China is very difficult and the forced
removal of the artist's studio is in fact my direct inspiration of this
series of photographs, Hiding In The City.'
Liu's art credentials were formed after he graduated from the
prestigious Sculpture Department of Central Academy of Fine Arts in
China.
He said his work requires a lot of patience with him having to pose and
work on his photographs for more than ten hours at a time to get it just
right.
'My job is to choose a good background where I want to be "disappeared",
and then stand there unmoved until a design has been painted on me,' he
said.
'There are many people who like my work I think because my work has a
quiet strength, in the photographs.
'I am standing, but there is a silent protest, the protest against the
environment for the survival, the protest against the state.
'I wanted to photograph the reality of scenes of China's development
today.
'My work is a kind of reminder, to remind people what the community we
live in really looks like, and what kind of problems exist.'
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