The individual ceases to exist in Liu Bolin’s Hiding in the City series.
TOP TO BOTTOM, Hiding in the City
© Liu Bolin
China is now in a paradox of adopting capitalist values and economic dreams which exist within an anachronistic communist framework. Within this context of a desperate leap towards a “modern” future, Bolin suggests the disintegration of the individual. He has commented, “Indulged in the development he has achieved, man is in fact digging his own grave with his greed… Instead of playing an active role in a dominant position, man… characterizes his existence with gradual and self-incurred disintegration.”
Liu Bolin is currently showing in a group show at Galerie Bertin-Toublanc, Paris, from April 5 to May 31.
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4 Comments
What’s wrong adopting some of the more positive aspects of capitalism to advance the cause of socialism? All isms are man-made and should evolve with time. It is proving successful in improving the lives of the people on a massive scale in China. Without China in her current powerful economic state, the USA’s present financial crisis could have imploded and brought about a situation which could be disastrous not only to the US but also , the whole Western society. What the West now feel uneasy most now is perhaps the possibility of rest of the world also following China’s example and thus enabling the third world nations to free themselves from the the economic ( and military) grip of the Western powers.
There’s nothing wrong with your first sentence, but I don’t think that is what Liu Bolin is addressing. I think what he’s trying to show is that Chinese people used to have nothing but an ideology–they were poor, they were scared, but they had Mao, and Mao was powerful. He was a true leader, and people got behind him. Now, they have money, but they have no ideology, no identity. Who really knows Hu Jintao? Who can really get behind just making money, especially after such rigid socialist ideals? I think what Liu Bolin is saying is that while China has changed its identity, the Chinese people have been left scrambling for one of their own. The country’s policy to this seems to be to just melt into the background, don’t make a fuss, and everything will be alright. Those who stand out and use their voice end up like Liu Xiaobo, and countless others.
And as for the West, I wouldn’t get too cocky. We’ve got a whole buffet of worries to get through, not the least of which come from our own society.
Liu Bolin is a master illusionist. A deep thinker. A talented, unique and raw artist. This body of work is one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. I enjoy Liu Bolin’s use of the environment, real space, living space. He seamlessly blends in with the environment. I believe the most successful works are of him as the “Invisible Friend” – wow, in front of the rubble and the canon. I’ve only limited experience with his work but I am now a true supporter and fan.
Truly gifted artist.
Peace.
Liu Bolin has been doing his Hiding in the City series since 2005. It started as a political commentary on the tensions between the Chinese government and their people and the identity an environment gives an individual and vice versa. Liu Bolin will be exhibiting at Eli Klein Fine Art in New York from June 29 – August 28, 2011. Eli Klein Fine Art represents him exclusively in North and South America. More images can be found on http://www.ekfineart.com.