Now you see me, now you don't: The artist who turns himself into the Invisible Man



Look carefully. A little closer. This is a portrait of a man trying to blend beautifully into the background.

Whether lurking next to a telephone box or standing to attention at a cannon, Liu Bolin has made an art of becoming the invisible man.

The Chinese artist is creating more than just startling images with his works.

Melting into the background: Artist Liu Bolin blends into a wall of graffiti in Beijing, China

Hanging by the telephone: Disguised amongst a pair of phone boxes. Liu's art is intended to show how city surroundings affect people

He claims they make a statement about his place in society. He sees himself as an outsider whose artistic efforts are not always valued, especially in his native country.

Standing silently in front of his chosen scene, in locations all around the world, the 36-year-old uses himself as a blank canvas.

Then, with a little help from an assistant, he paints his body to merge as seamlessly as possible with what is behind him.



It means people walking by while he is carrying out his performances often have no idea he is nearby until he begins to move.

Stock still: The artist arranges himself against a colourful wall. He says his photographs often take more than 10 hours as he strives to get them just right

Can you see me? Liu hides 'behind' a man

Liu said he wanted to show how city surroundings affected people living in them.



He added that the inspiration behind his work was a sense of not fitting in to modern society and was a silent protest against the persecution of artists.



He said: 'Some people call me the invisible man, but for me it's what is not seen in a picture which is really what tells the story.

'After graduating from school I couldn't find suitable work and I felt there was no place for me in society.



'I experienced the dark side of society, without social relations, and had a feeling that no one cared about me, I felt myself unnecessary in this world.



'From that time, my attitude turned from dependence into revolting against the system.'



Liu said he was further pushed on with his work when the Chinese authorities shut down his art studio in Beijing in 2005.



He said: 'At that time, contemporary art was in quick development in Beijing, but the government decided it did not want artists like us to gather and live together.



'Also many exhibitions were forced to close.



'The situation for artists in China is very difficult and the forced removal of the artist's studio is in fact my direct inspiration of this series of photographs, Hiding In The City.'



Liu's art credentials were formed after he graduated from the prestigious Sculpture Department of Central Academy of Fine Arts in China.



He said his work requires a lot of patience with him having to pose and work on his photographs for more than ten hours at a time to get it just right.



'My job is to choose a good background where I want to be "disappeared", and then stand there unmoved until a design has been painted on me,' he said.



'There are many people who like my work I think because my work has a quiet strength, in the photographs.

'I am standing, but there is a silent protest, the protest against the environment for the survival, the protest against the state.



'I wanted to photograph the reality of scenes of China's development today.



'My work is a kind of reminder, to remind people what the community we live in really looks like, and what kind of problems exist.'

In this astonishing image he merges into rubble after an earthquake in Sichuan, Central China

The Chinese artist melts into a cannon standing at Horse Guards Parade, Central London