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The invisible man

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    Liu Bolin: By making myself invisible,
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    I try to question the inter-canceling relationship
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    between our civilization and its development.
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    Interpreter: By making myself invisible, I try to explore and question
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    the contradictory and often inter-canceling relationship
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    between our civilization and its development.
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    LB: This is my first work, created in November 2005.
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    And this is Beijing International Art Camp where I worked
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    before the government forcibly demolished it.I used this work to express my objection.
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    I also want to use this work to let more people
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    pay attention to the living condition of artists and the condition of their creative freedom.
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    In the meantime, from the beginning, this series has a
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    protesting, reflective
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    and uncompromising spirit.
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    When applying makeup, I borrow a sniper's method
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    to better protect myself
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    and to detect the enemy, as he did. (Laughter)
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    After finishing this series of protests,
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    I started questioning why my fate was like this,
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    and I realized that it's not just me --
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    all Chinese are as confused as I am.
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    As you can see, these works
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    are about family planning, election in accordance with the law
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    and propaganda of the institution of the People's Congress.
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    This work is called Xia Gang ("leaving post").
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    "Xia Gang" is a Chinese euphemism for "laid off".
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    It refers to those people who lost their jobs during China's transition from a planned economy to a market economy.
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    From 1998 to 2000,
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    21.37 million people
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    lost their jobs in China.
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    The six people in the photo
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    are Xia Gang workers.
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    I made them invisible in the deserted shop wherethey had lived and worked all their lives.
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    On the wall behind them is the slogan of the Cultural Revolution:
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    "The core force leading our cause forward is the Chinese Communist Party."
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    For half a month
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    I looked for these 6 people to participate in my work.
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    We can only see six men in this picture,but in fact, those who are hidden here
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    are all people who were laid off. They have just been made invisible.
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    This piece is called The Studio.
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    This spring,
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    I happened to have an opportunity during my solo exhibition in Paris
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    to shoot a work in the news studio of France 3 --
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    I picked the news photos of the day.
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    One is about the war in the Middle East,
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    and another one is about a public demonstration in France.
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    I found that any culture has its irreconcilable contradictions.
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    This is a joint effort between me and French artist JR.
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    Interpreter: This is a joint effort between me and French artist JR.
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    (Applause)
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    LB: I tried to disappear into JR's eye,
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    but the problem is JR only uses models with big eyes.
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    So I tried to make my eyes bigger with my fingers.
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    But still they are not big enough for JR, unfortunately.
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    Interpreter: So I tried to disappear into JR's eye,
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    but the problem is JR uses only models with big eyes.
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    So I tried to make my eyes bigger with this gesture.
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    But it doesn't work, my eyes are still small.
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    LB: This one is about 9/11 memories.
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    This is an aircraft carrier moored alongside the Hudson River.
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    Kenny Scharf's graffiti.
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    (Laughter)
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    This is Venice, Italy.
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    Because global temperatures rise,
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    the sea level rises, and it is said thatVenice will disappear in the coming decades.
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    This is the ancient city of Pompeii.
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    Interpreter: This is the ancient city of Pompeii.
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    LB: This is the Borghese Gallery
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    in Rome.
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    When I work on a new piece, I pay more attention to the expression of ideas.
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    For instance, why would I make myself invisible?
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    What will making myself invisible here cause people to think?
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    This one is called Instant Noodles.
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    Interpreter: This one is called Instant Noodles. (Laughter)
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    LB: Since August 2012,
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    harmful phosphors have been found
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    in the instant noodle package cups from every famous brand sold in China's supermarkets.
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    These phosphors can even cause cancer.
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    To create this artwork,
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    I bought a lot of packaged instant noodle cups
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    and put them in my studio, making it look like a supermarket.
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    And my task is to stand there, trying to be still,
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    setting up the camera position and coordinating with my assistant
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    and drawing the colors and shapes that are behind my body
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    on the front of my body. If the background is simple,
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    I usually have to stand for three to four hours.
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    The background of this piece is more complex,
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    so I need three to four days in advance for preparation.
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    This is the suit I wore when I did the supermarket shoot.
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    There is no Photoshop involved.
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    Interpreter: This is the suit I [was] wearing when I did the supermarket shoot.
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    There is no Photoshop involved. (Laughter)
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    LB: These works are on China's cultural memories.
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    And this one,
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    this is about food safety in China.
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    Unsafe food can harm people's health,
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    and a deluge of magazines can confuse people's minds. (Laughter)
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    The next pieces of work show how I made myself invisible in magazines of different languages,
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    in different countries and at different times.
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    I think that in art, an artist's attitude is the most important element.
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    If an artwork is to touch someone,
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    it must be the result of not only technique, but also the artist's thinking and struggle in life.
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    And the repeated struggles in life create artwork,
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    no matter in what form.
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    (Music)
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    That's all I want to say.
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    Thank you. (Applause)
Title:
The invisible man
Speaker:
Liu Bolin
Description:

Can a person disappear in plain sight? That’s the question Liu Bolin‘s remarkable work seems to ask. The Beijing-based artist is sometimes called “The Invisible Man” because in nearly all his art, Bolin is front and center — and completely unseen. He aims to draw attention to social and political issues by dissolving into the background.

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Video Language:
Chinese, Simplified
Team:
closed TED
Project:
TEDTalks
Duration:
07:46

English subtitles

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