Liu Bolin, the Chinese artist renowned as ‘The Invisible Man,’ earned his nickname from the media due to his exceptional talent for urban camouflage. In his project called ‘Hiding In The City’, the artist aims to draw attention to important social issues of his country and dissect the line between the individual and society.
Liu studied sculpture in university and graduated in 1995 and worked as a sculptor for 10 years after his graduation. He first attempted to create art using his body back in 2001 and when the Suojiacun Artists’ Village, where Bolin’s and many other artists studios were, was demolished by the Chinese government, the artist realized he could only use his body to protest. “I only have my body as an artist, I have nothing else,” the artist told Demilked.
When asked how he chooses the locations for his photos, the artist said he focuses on something that could touch his heart. “Like the slogans on
The artist has been creating the ‘Hiding In The City’ series for almost 12 years now. He started on November 17th, 2005 and says many people helped him throughout the years. “My friends came to help me at the beginning, I had my own assistants later. So there are a lot of people help me do my Hiding in city series artworks,” said Liu. The urban camouflage is done by a team of people: “Some of them do painting, some of them take the video, some of them film the shooting tidbits, even I have a driver. My task is choose the right background, then be the model, put on all clothes, my assistant will paint all my hidden background on my body. General speaking, I need 5 or 6 people to help me do my artwork.”
Check out the amazing urban camouflage by ‘The Invisible Man’ in the gallery below – can you spot him in all the pictures?
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