The Invisible Man Favorite 

Practitioner: 

Date: 

Jan 1 2005

Location: 

Beijing, Venice, Paris and New York

“My intention was not to disappear in the environment but instead to let the environment take possession of me” Said Liu Bolin. With his strong photography, Bolin vanishes into the city, creating a powerful statement about our relationship, as humans, to our surroundings.
His body acts a blank canvas against different urban backdrops; with the aid of his assistants, Bolin is perfectly painted to blend beautifully into the background, making it difficult to distinguish him from the environment around him. The artist’s vision is as clear and as powerful as he displays it in his work series. Starting in 2005 his art work included series of “Hiding in the City” and “The Invisible Man.”
The Invisible Man’s camouflage has attracted the world’s attention to his art. Starting in his hometown, Beijing, China, his later works were carried out through Venice, Paris and New York. At the beginning, Bolin was motivated to create the “Hiding In the City” series in Beijing as a silent protest against the demolition of Suo Jia Cun; the village of artists. As for his later works, Bolin manages to create his art in places that hold significant examples of the affect of economic and urban development on us as humans. His statements are far more than an individual’s expression; they connect to the worldwide society.

External sources: 

https://www.arch2o.com/the-invisible-man-liu-bolin/
https://www.artnet.com/artists/liu-bolin/2
https://liubolinstudio.com/2018/02/17/liu-bolin-the-invisible-man-erarta-museum/
Posted by vanessaw_ on Feb 26 2024

Staff rating: 

0

Effectiveness

How does this project help?

Amplifies (issue or campaign)Brings public and political attention to an issue or campaign.  Can include prefigurative action, making the invisible visible.
Shifts (culture)Shifts the cultural landscape in order to imagine and enable change.

Timeframe For change

This project seems to be part of a campaign with a clear long-term goal. Long-term goals tend to be things like: end racism; end homophobia; make the sun stand still in the sky. A campaign with a long-term goal also needs to have some kind of theory of change.
The artist’s oeuvre is a combination of artistic genres and techniques encompassing sculpture, performance art and photography, whilst it also simultaneously addresses important issues in today’s society as well as the various political controversies in China and world-wide. The background and landscapes chosen by the artist are typically representational of the current concerns of society. “The locations I choose must be strongly referenced to some symbols like politics, environment, culture, etc.… the backgrounds express the most important information, conflicts are caused when my body vanishes in different backgrounds, a reflection of society from my point of view.” Additionally, his work can be seen as a metaphor for the condition of today’s society, who feel invisible to the greater powers of the government, environment, consumerism and urbanization. Liu Bolin notes that “… In China, people have maintained the red-themed uniformity lifestyle for a long time, especially common people. They have even injected the uniformity of behavior or thinking into their blood”, but the same can be said for any other country and place. To what extent can our plight be heard? To what extent can we identify ourselves within a similar situation or in an analogous landscape? Would you be able to recognize yourself in a place where forces outside yourself thrust you into the background?

Notes

Liu Bolin's "The Invisible Man" project is highly effective in drawing global attention to the nuanced issues of individual invisibility, societal neglect, and environmental degradation through its visually compelling and thought-provoking imagery. By engaging audiences worldwide, the project fosters a deeper awareness and dialogue around these critical topics, demonstrating art's power to influence societal perceptions and encourage action towards change.