Wednesday
30Sep2009
Liu Bolin
Wednesday, September 30, 2009 
I am blown away by this series entitles "Camouflage" by Beijing based artist Liu Bolin. Covered entirely in paint to blend into their surroundings, each installation can take up to 10 hours of painstaking work. I find his work utterly compelling and beautifully executed.
Thanks to my brother Jamie for the tip!
Reader Comments (29)
wow. very very talented. love it. thanks for sharing!
This is very impressive. How interesting.
Stunning work. So much content, so much to say. So pleased you shared.
That us unbelievably amazing. Thank you for sharing!
This bloke has way too much time on his hands!!! Can't you buy PhotoShop in China? I mean .... it would be soooo much easier just to take a couple of photos, scan them, then just a few hasty points and clicks in PhotoShop and your done. Bewdie. I mean .... why would you waste so much time and so much good make-up?!
Ann.
Ann. You're a miserable old hag.
Easy there, friends. Though I have to agree with the sentiment behind Arty Morty's statement. If the artist simply used photoshop then this wouldn't be art worthy of international acclaim. The artist is also speaking out against the Chinese government. they had shut down his studio and his art carries a message of what it means to blend in with the masses. Photoshopped images just wouldn't carry that same weight, would they?
Emily, that's what I meant to say but you're far more eloquent.
And polite.
Gives new meaning to the "Where's Waldo" series. Incredible!
This is breath taking.
he is a mutant! ;-)
Visually, intellectually and emotionally moving. Really amazing. Thanks to Emily's explanation above - I'd also briefly wondered why photoshop wasn't used but it makes perfect artistic sense.
Very Cool!
Excellent work - I'm quite impressed.
The last photo even took me a little while to find the camouflaged man.
Big respect to the artist Liu Bolin.
Are these really REAL ?? (Unbelievable)
Ann, Arty Morty, and Emily: the great question of the 21st century will be "What is not artificial?" It is not irrelevant to add a supplementary question: If this is wasting good make-up, when is make-up not wasted?
Fantastic. Thanks for sharing.
I agree with the general sentiment, why would you even think of photoshop when you can do it for real?
- Matt
I LIKE IT ALOT
...amazing...awesome...too much time thinking during the performance...it never could be wasting time...
U guys in the West are really odd; anything that you feel is against the Chinese Govt. is sure to get your support. Why can't you people treat art as art itself? I sure like the way Liu expresses his artistic talents but I am one who thinks this present Chinese govt has done much for its people. Beside restoring the pride of the Chinese people, who have been subjected to centuries of humiliation by all those from the West who had tried their best to take whatever they could from China, it has also lifted a large segment of the population from abject poverty.
Atan Liar- My comment were hardly spoken against the Chinese Government or art for arts sake. I was simply stating that if it is Liu's intentions to be making a statement against the government (which is what I learned when reading up on him, not something I came up with myself) I think that his art is a far better vehicle of communication then some photo shopped image that someone with far less talent could pull off. I think Liu himself would be the one you would need to speak with on the government thing. And he is from the East, not West.
camouflage as nonviolent resistance? stunning work of art! i like it.
This IS fake.... how can he possibly paint himself sitting down and in line with where the guy should be behind him so accurately? do you mean to say he paints himself then sits down? do you mean to say he knows where each fold in his pants will be?.... If you believe this, then you have no appreciation for what it would really take to pull this off.......... I would tolerate this if someone told me that he painted someone else.
Wow, very stunning work. Amazed and it's very memorizing talent that only one with a lot of inspiration and wittiness can foresee this and make it happen. Art is art, it all depends in how you put your work in it whether through government issues, disaster of the world or through past tense experience. If you can draw it, have imagination for it and creativity than i say do it!
I believe this was Exquisite work done.
the artist is amaing! Love the ideas behind the work. It is so sad to be invisible, but sometimes it's a must to hide your true corlors in china.
I just found your blog through Etsy (I think...) So interesting and fun to read. I discovered Liu Bolin recently while interviewing a very different body painting artist called Filippo Ioco. He told me that he was influenced by and greatly admired the model Veruschka, who during the 70s painted herself into scenery much the way Bolin does. Anyway, I love the photos you've included in this post and find that each one makes its own unique statement. Cheers, m
breath taking!! love it!!!
I find myself in envy of your work Liu. I take great inspiration from people who believe in something enough to express it through such a labor intensive process. It REALLY makes a bigger impression knowing that it was done traditionally and not digitally. Bless you, and I hope your message carries, and inspires others who feel like you do. I look forward to seeing your next installments.
Expressive work, but not original, I "suspect" ( I don't know when he began creating his invisible images) that he has gravely pilfered the genuinely creative works of the Dutch artist Desiree Palmen
http://www.desireepalmen.nl/images.php