Liu Bolin: the invisible man

A Chinese artist is getting noticed for...not being noticed.

Liu Bolin, a Chinese artist from Henan province, has received international acclaim for his ability to go unnoticed. A new series of artworks show Liu highly camouflaged into urban environments such as dilapidated buildings, supermarket shelves and digger tyres.

Analysing a picture taken from a certain angle, then carefully mapping a body-shaped section of that picture out onto Liu’s clothes create the scenes.

He then dons the apparel, stands in front of the backdrop and has his two assistants finish the piece by painting Liu’s hands and face. The process is painstakingly long, often taking up to ten hours to complete a single shot. The result is an extraordinary disguise that renders Liu almost invisible in front of his chosen background.

Liu, who began the series after his studio was torn down against his will, claims becoming virtually invisible in his art mirrors his feeling of insignificance in an urban space.

“I use each work to respond to my encounters. To be an individual means the relationship you have with your surroundings”, says Liu. “You are not consciously allowing your surroundings to swallow you up. Or to be an individual, lets say you live to be 100, but in history you were just a dot. How do you make your mark?”