Liu Bolin

(born 1973 in Shandong, China)

is a Chinese artist known for taking photographs of himself, 

painted in order to blend in with the background.

He graduated from the Sculpture Department of Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.

These series is called "Hiding In The City".

Liu said he wanted to show how city surrounding 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.'