The Invisible Man: Liu Bolin’s Amazing Camouflage Art

What if humans could blend into the environment as effortlessly as some animals can? A photography series by Beijing-based artist Liu Bolin called ‘Camouflage’ explores a fascinating way to do this, without the use of camo print: painting human subjects so that they disappear into a background.

Bolin painstakingly paints his subjects’ faces, hair, hands, clothing and shoes to match a chosen setting, taking up to ten hours per shoot to get it just right. In some photos, like the two shown above, it really takes a moment to spot the people in the photos. Often, passersby can’t even tell that they’re there.

Of the series, the artist says, “In my photography, historical statues, costumes and architecture become symbols of that which confines us. I am expressing the desire to break through these structures. I portray subjects that seem to disappear into these structures and become transparent. The subject is released from social constructs and he is free.”

Link [ArtInfo.com] + [Design Boom]

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