The Chameleon

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Published on July 24, 2009

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Chinese artist Liu Bolin is “The Chameleon; his attempt isn’t to integrate himself into an environment, on the contrary, he feels invaded by the environment. I.e. “Man reverts to an animal state to instinctively preserve himself from danger.” As a reviewer, I’m a bit puzzled about his intentions. Are we saturated and in danger by our environment? Please leave your personal feedback in the comment box. Thanks!

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Notes about the artist from ifa gallery:

The first work that he presents to the public is a series of photographs entitled “Hiding in the City”, in which a man, often the artist himself, camouflages his face and body to disappear into a seemingly innocent urban landscape. Technically, he carries out the work himself or has someone paint his body and face according to the landscape that will be his backdrop. With time, he carries out the bulk of the work beforehand from photographs, and makes the final adjustments on site.

Liu Bolin’s “urban camouflages” are reminiscent of the photographs of the Dutch artist Desiree Palmen, who melts into backgrounds where the unifying characteristic is their complete ordinariness: a street, a door, a wall. Whereas Palmen’s camouflaged people are caught in movement, like a breath of wind, Liu Bolin is caught immobile, transfixed and static, eyes closed. Only the backgrounds move from one shot to the next. Is this person indifferent to the world around him?