Although the past decade a few artists in China have received attention in the West, the majority of artists inside China toil in isolation, receiving little financial support, and, sadly, even less respect, from their homeland.
Liu Bolin (劉勃麟), a 36 year old Chinese artist, challenges the status of artists in China through his “Hidden In The City” series. In this work he paints himself according to the background and blends into the environment as if he has disappeared. It takes Liu as long as 10 hours to prepare for each piece in his series. His “disappearing act” is so good that frequently passerbys don’t even notice he is there.
I experienced the dark side of the city. I seemed to have no part in the society. No one cared about me. I felt that the society did not need me. From that time, my attitude turned from dependence to resistance.
In 2005 when the government demolished Liu’s studio in Beijing, he became inspired to realize a new art form – disappearing. Liu said:
Chinese artists are in a very difficult situation. I want to use a series of photos titled “Hidden in the City“ as a silent demonstration, to point out the adverse situation artists are living in, and the poor attitude the society has towards arts.
Life in China is booming for many of its peoples but artists are one group that remain marginalized. Liu addresses this issue by invoking irony to remind people to pay attention to the “Hidden in the City.”
*The translation of the original article from Chinese was done by Patrick Lau in Singapore.
*Photos courtesy of juetuzhi.net and e-zone.com.hk.
Click here for a few books on contemporary art in China: New China, New Art, by Richard Vine, and The Revolution Continues: New Art From China by the Saatchi Gallery.
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woooaaa! this is way cool! i hope the paint used was non-toxic!
I usually don’t like performance art but this is very creative and meaningful. Way cool!
why didn’t i think of this?
well done. invisible art should be the next “not to be missed” art form
I know some people I’d love to “paint” out of my life. Brilliant idea, Mr. Liu!
[...] Liu Bolin gets camouflaged into Kenny Scharf mural By Eyeswoon, on June 28th, 2011 It’s always fascinating to watch two artists from radically different areas of the creative spectrum collaborate. This time the duo is Chinese contemporary artist Liu Bolin and the well-known street artist Kenny Scharf. If you recall from my previous post, Liu Bolin is the artist who camouflages himself so that his whole body blends seamlessly into the background – see “Artist Liu Bolin (劉勃麟) disappears in China.” [...]
[...] crisscrossing the country painting up a storm. In June, Scharf helped camouflage Chinese artist Liu Bolin into his New York City Bowery & Houston mural (see “Liu Bolin gets camouflaged into Kenny [...]
[...] In The City” series Liu Bolin did in New York City earlier this summer. Chinese artist Liu Bolin has become famous for “painting himself” into a background, thus disappearing into the [...]