Hiding in the City – Panda (2011) belongs to Liu Bolin’s celebrated Hiding in the City series, in which the artist camouflages himself within his surroundings through meticulously applied body painting.

In this work, Liu Bolin disappears into a dense display of panda toys, his body almost entirely absorbed by the repeated black-and-white forms. The playful imagery contrasts with the central idea of the series: the tension between individual identity and the social, cultural and physical environments that surround us.

Rather than digitally manipulating the final image, Liu Bolin’s practice is based on a performative process in which his body and clothing are painted to correspond with the background before the scene is photographed.

Created in 2011, Hiding in the City – Panda is a distinctive example of Liu Bolin’s exploration of visibility, disappearance and the relationship between the individual and contemporary society.