Artists in the City: Lui Bolin

Things to Consider: Camouflaged or Highlighted?

I think that in art, an artist’s attitude is the most important element. If an artwork is to touch someone, it must be the result of not only technique, but also the artist’s thinking and struggle in life. And the repeated struggles in life create artwork, no matter in what form. 

Lui Bolin

Bolin is a Chinese artist who studied sculpture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.

Liu Bolin explores the relationship between the individual and society by ‘disappearing’ into environments. Usually these sites are areas under intense criticism and debate.

Bolin adopts a protesting, yet reflecting method with his work. He questions issues like family planning, elections, food safety, law, and propaganda.

He has also addressed the issue of people being laid off from their jobs during times of economic crisis. He makes workers invisible in the place they have spend their entire life working.

So he asks himself:

“Why will I make myself invisible. What will making myself invisible here cause people to think?“

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Citations:

Liu Bolin. The Invisible Man. TED Talk. February 2013. < https://www.ted.com/talks/liu_bolin_the_invisible_man > [19 August 2019]

Liu Bolin Studio. Liu Bolin. 2019. < https://liubolinstudio.com/liubolin/ >  [19 August 2019]