Name: The invisible man
Uploaded: 2013-05-15T14:44:26Z
Duration: 7 min 33 s
Description: Can a person disappear in plain sight? That's the question Liu Bolin's remarkable work seems to ask. The Beijing-based artist is sometimes called "The Invisible Man" because in nearly all his art, Bolin is front and center — and completely unseen. He aims to draw attention to social and political issues by dissolving into the background.

Liu Bolin: The invisible man

The invisible man

Can a person disappear in plain sight? That's the question Liu Bolin's remarkable work seems to ask. The Beijing-based artist is sometimes called "The Invisible Man" because in nearly all his art, Bolin is front and center — and completely unseen. He aims to draw attention to social and political issues by dissolving into the background.

Making himself nearly invisible within ordinary and iconic settings, an artist highlights the often unseen tensions shaping modern life. His camouflage in supermarket aisles, historical ruins, and propaganda backdrops challenges viewers to notice what society overlooks. In one powerful image, six laid-off workers blend into the abandoned shop where they spent their lives, echoing the fate of over 21 million people who lost jobs during China’s economic shift. Each carefully staged scene questions who gets erased and what stories remain hidden in plain sight.