Now, here's a guy who can really paint himself into a corner...and a magazine rack...and a bus stop...and a toy shelf...
Those are just a few of the backdrops that contemporary artist Liu Bolin of Beijing, China, fades into in his latest series of photographs exhibited at Eli Klein Fine Art Gallery in New York City.
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Eli Klein Fine Art, © Liu Bolin |
The artist blends into a wall of graffiti in Beijing.
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His assistants spend as many as 10 hours per photograph covering Bolin so that he can blend in seamlessly with his background of choice, according to reports.
The photographs make a statement about how Bolin views his role in society.
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Eli Klein Fine Art, © Liu Bolin |
Bolin melts into this magazine rack in New York City.
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"Each one chooses his or her path to come in contact with the external world. I chose to merge with the environment," he told members of the media.
Bolin remembers what it was like to be truly invisible, according to an article in Smithsonian Magazine.
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Eli Klein Fine Art, © Liu Bolin |
"People can exist or completely disappear," according to the artist.
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"In 2005, the Chinese government shut down Beijing’s thriving art village, Suo Jia Cun, demolishing some 100 studios, including Liu’s. He protested the state’s treatment of artists with a photographic series, Hiding in the City," the magazine reported.
"I was a meaningless person, according to society," Liu said. "Those years made me feel like people can exist or completely disappear."
To see 115 photographs by Bolin, click here.
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