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Invisible Body and the Predicaments of Existence in an Urbanizing China

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  • Meiqin Wang

Abstract

This article contextualises the art practice of Beijing-based artist Liu Bolin and examines ways in which his artworks illuminate the sociopolitical conditions that regulate the everyday reality of underprivileged social groups amid China’s spectacular urban transformation in the 2000s. The tension between individual existence and the force of urbanization underlays Liu’s most important work, entitled Hiding in the City. This performance photographic series, in which Liu covered his body thoroughly with paint so that he “disappeared” into the background, was initiated as a response towards the demolition of an artist village in Beijing where the artist resided and worked. The series has since been developed into an ambitious and years-long project in which the artist surveys the disparate urban living environment of the city, bringing to the surface dominant forces that render the existence of the individuals “invisible”.

Suggested Citation

  • Meiqin Wang, 2015. "Invisible Body and the Predicaments of Existence in an Urbanizing China," Journal of Current Chinese Affairs - China aktuell, Institute of Asian Studies, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 44(1), pages 163-197.
  • Handle: RePEc:gig:chaktu:v:44:y:2015:i:1:p:163-197
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    File URL: http://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jcca/article/view/820
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    Cited by:

    1. Karsten Giese, 2015. "Introduction: Adaptation and Learning among Chinese Actors in Africa," Journal of Current Chinese Affairs - China aktuell, Institute of Asian Studies, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 44(1), pages 3-8.
    2. Katy N. Lam, 2015. "Chinese Adaptations: African Agency, Fragmented Community and Social Capital Creation in Ghana," Journal of Current Chinese Affairs - China aktuell, Institute of Asian Studies, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 44(1), pages 9-41.
    3. Timothy Steven Rich & Vasabjit Banerjee, 2015. "Running Out of Time? The Evolution of Taiwan’s Relations in Africa," Journal of Current Chinese Affairs - China aktuell, Institute of Asian Studies, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 44(1), pages 141-161.
    4. Richard Aidoo & Steve Hess, 2015. "Non-Interference 2.0: China’s Evolving Foreign Policy towards a Changing Africa," Journal of Current Chinese Affairs - China aktuell, Institute of Asian Studies, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 44(1), pages 107-139.
    5. Allen Hai Xiao, 2015. "In the Shadow of the States: The Informalities of Chinese Petty Entrepreneurship in Nigeria," Journal of Current Chinese Affairs - China aktuell, Institute of Asian Studies, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 44(1), pages 75-105.

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