By fading seamlessly into his surroundings, Liu Bolin makes a bold statement about his place in Chinese society. In 2005, the Chinese Government destroyed Bolin's studio along with hundred's of other artists' homes in the village of Suojiacun in northeast Beijing. His work is a direct result of this act and of the persecution of artists in China, alongside his own feelings of being an outsider in his native country.
Bolin, a 36 year old artist with an M.F.A. from China’s Central Academy of Fine Arts, spends hours studying photographs of his scenery then masterfully paints himself into the background. This process takes about ten hours and the results take the Where's Waldo thing to a whole other level.
