Poverty + Development

There’s an invisible man standing in the middle of these photos. Look closer

Chinese artist Liu Bolin is a master of disguise. Over the past decade he's highlighted some of the world's most pressing issues with his work.

By Stephy Chung for CNN.

Beijing (CNN) How many times can you pull off the same disappearing act? An unlimited number of times — if you’re Chinese artist Liu Bolin. A full decade on from his first series, “Hiding in the City,” Liu has continued to work within the unique medium — camouflaging himself into various backgrounds with the aim of raising awareness on political and societal issues.

“I always use my works to question and rethink the inequality and imbalance caused by the process of human development,” says Liu, who in the past, has been painted to ‘disappear’ into the backdrop of demolition sites and supermarket aisles (to voice concerns about China’s fake food scandals).

Liu camouflaged 23 residents from one of China's 'cancer villages.' into a rural backdrop. A chemical factory is seen in the distance.

This week, Liu’s studio has released “The Future” — a photograph of the artist painted into a vibrant backdrop of flags from all 193 United Nations member states. Spread among these are square blocks of 17 UN Global Goals — including “no poverty” and “climate action.”

Artist Liu Bolin peels off the mask of camouflage

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