Liu Bolin

"My work is a reflection on the relationship between humankind and the world, we create it, and in return, it shapes us."- Liu Bolin
For this new exhibition in Paris, Liu Bolin presents a special creation conceived exclusively for the occasion, a monumental performance where the artist’s body once again becomes both medium and message. Produced by Danysz Gallery, this new work continues Bolin’s exploration of visibility and disappearance, echoing the iconic collaboration he created ten years ago with JR in front of the Louvre Pyramid. The exhibition also reveals for the first time the making-of of this new performance, lifting the curtain on the meticulous process behind it. This behind-the-scenes perspective allows visitors to grasp the precision, patience, and symbolism that underpin each of the artist’s creations.

Alongside this major work, Liu Bolin presents a selection of sculptures from his wider field of practice. These human figures, crafted from electronic components, embody his ongoing reflection on humanity’s place in a world dominated by technology, media, and mass communication. Through his performances, photographs, and sculptures, Liu Bolin explores the mechanisms of visibility and erasure that shape our contemporary societies. His work questions how we communicate, how we perceive, and what it truly means to see in an age of relentless exposure.
Known worldwide as “the invisible man,” Liu Bolin has left an indelible mark on the history of photography and performance art through a unique practice in which his body, meticulously painted and camouflaged, merges seamlessly with his surroundings. Whether disappearing into urban landscapes, historical monuments, or walls lined with everyday objects, Bolin transforms himself into a living sculpture that reflects both presence and absence.

His artistic journey began in Beijing in 2005, when the demolition of his studio by authorities prompted him to literally fade into his environment as a gesture of protest and resilience. Since then, from China to major cities and emblematic sites across the globe, Liu Bolin has continued to question the place of the individual within society, exploring the fragile balance between visibility and erasure, conformity and resistance.

Through his photographs, performances, and sculptures, Bolin transcends the act of disappearance to engage with broader reflections on identity, surveillance, and the role of the artist as witness. His work stands as a poetic and political meditation on how the modern world absorbs, consumes, and sometimes obliterates the individual — while still leaving space for humanity to reappear.
By disappearing, Liu Bolin reveals the world
Artworks
By disappearing, Liu Bolin reveals the world.
Totem Portrait of Modern People 31, 2016

Through the act of blending into his surroundings, Liu Bolin transforms absence into a form of presence. His performances and photographs challenge our perception of visibility, identity, and collective consciousness. What first appears as a visual illusion becomes a mirror reflecting the structures that shape our daily lives — political, cultural, and social.

By erasing himself from the surface of the world, Liu Bolin invites us to see it more clearly. His art reminds us that disappearance can be a powerful way of speaking, and that through silence and invisibility, one can still reveal the deepest truths of our time.
“Some say I disappear into the landscape. I would rather say it is the environment that devours me.”
LIU BOLIN & JR : A MAKING OF

Ten years ago, the gallery brought together two remarkable artists for a unique collaboration in front of one of Paris’s most emblematic monuments. On that day, Liu Bolin and JR met at the foot of the Louvre Pyramid itself transformed by JR’s monumental installation.

Liu Bolin merged into JR’s collage, disappearing within the photographic illusion that covered the glass structure. The image captured this encounter between visibility and disappearance, between architecture and illusion, between two artistic visions questioning how we see and how we are seen.

Produced by Danysz gallery this work has since become an iconic dialogue between two generations of artists who share the same commitment to art in the public space and to making us look at the world differently.
ABOUT THE ARTIST

Liu Bolin was born in 1973 in Shandong province, eastern China. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Shandong Fine Arts University, and a Master of Fine Arts from the Central Academy of Fine Arts of China. His works are regularly exhibited in galleries and museums around the world. He lives and works in Beijing.

A chameleon artist, Liu Bolin uses self-effacement to create a subtle tension that calls for a reaction. Whether blending into supermarket shelves or iconic landmarks, his backgrounds often seem predatory. “Some say I disappear into the landscape,” he explains. “I’d rather say the environment swallows me.”

Repeated across the world, his performances reveal how cities, consumerism and mass tourism can erase individuality.

Alongside his photographs, Bolin’s sculptures made of circuit boards and cables express the same vision: humanity dissolving into the technological and political structures of our age. Through quiet acts of disappearance, Liu Bolin invites us to look closer, to rediscover the human form and to make Man reappear.
IN THE PRESS

(Larger version of this image opens in a popup).

(Larger version of this image opens in a popup).

(Larger version of this image opens in a popup).

Liu Bolin : "Je disparais dans mes décors pour mieux dénoncer", Le Monde