Hiding in the City 2 Favorite 

At the end of 2005, Liu Boln was living in Beijing and working as an artist’s assistant. Beijing’s art world at this time was thriving. On November 16, 2006 when Suo Jia Cun was forcibly demolished, Liu decided to use his works to make a stand against this atrocity. He wanted to show the state of artists in society, that their living and working places had not been protected. The stillness of his body during the production of the work is a silent protest. The insistence of his body and its resistance to movement and nature are both reflected in his work. He is fighting for freedom and for the social status of the artist with his body.
Liu Bolin’ first series “Hide in the city” presents a self-portrait of the artist immobile and covered with paint, blending in with a black decor, his studio, located in the district of artists razed by the Chinese government. A silent protest: Liu Bolin makes himself invisible to get noticed. Since then, he has created works combining photography, body art, optical art and living sculpture. This man-chameleon poses for hours in front the backdrop of his choice to blend in with the scenery with the help of his painters-assistants, without any digital effects. At the end of the process, he stops the performance through photography.
By first working in his native country and later including the entire world, he composes images that at first attract, then surprise and disturb, and finally imprint themselves on the memory. He uses a unique artistic form with a rare effectiveness that is perfectly in sync with the modern times.