Meet 35-year-old Liu Bolin from Shandong, China - the human chameleon. Liu manages to camouflage himself in any surroundings, no matter how difficult they might be. He works on a single photo for up to 10 hours at a time, not just to make sure he gets it perfectly right, but to ensure that he achieves the right effect: sometimes passers-by don’t even realize he is there until he moves!
The talented artist had exhibited primarily in China until last year’s solo show at Paris’ Galerie Bertin Toublanc and a group show with the gallery in Miami. He recently finished up a show at Eli Klein Fine Art in New York showcasing a variety of his pieces including some from the series ‘Camoflague’. This series is an exploration of human nature and animal instincts which features Chinese citizens painted to blend into their surroundings. The subjects are covered head to toe in paint, camouflaging themselves in front of the Chinese flag, a billboard or downtown Beijing.
The talented Liu Bolin says his art is a protest against the actions of the Government, who shut down his art studio in 2005 and persecutes artists. It’s about not fitting into modern society. Despite problems with Chinese authorities, Liu’s works are appreciated at an international level. Karma Chameleon anyone?
As I had highlighted in my post about our very own Sudarshan "Sandman" Patnaik, it would not be a bad idea for marketers to tap into this Chinese talent (Hindi - Chini bhai bhai, eh?) and use him to promote their ware ala M/s Julian Beever and Guido Daniele - after all, Liu's work eye catching and leaves an impression to say the least - have a look at his Beijing Olympic piece (below) to see what I mean.
---Source: http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/meet-the-real-life-invisible-man.html
If you like this art form, check out these links too:
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/3189/camouflage-art-by-desiree-palmen.html
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/3304/body-art-by-emma-hack.html