MDGallery is pleased to present Liu Bolin’s new series of work: “THE HACKER SERIES” opening in London on September 3rd, 2015. For this series Liu Bolin has hacked institutional websites such as the French embassy in London where some images have been altered. He has taken away the original image to replace it with one of his. Barely visible the artist hides in those pictures. The only thing one can see is the light in his hand. It is a light he tries to shed on reality. As the artist shares “in my latest solo show I explore what, in an era of intense virtualization, remains real. Is what we see really what we get?”
“With this new step I am no longer the “Invisible Man”, I am more an art whistleblower trying to raise the awareness of people about the power of images”, adds Liu Bolin. By hacking institutional websites and changing one of their images Liu Bolin wishes to reflect upon the internet era and where the real power lays. The series is like a performance inside the worldwide web. Internet changes the way people communicate and how they get the information. “It is the beginning of a new world”, says Liu Bolin, the “Network Age” will have the humans change. In opposition to our traditional philosophy, people are now facing a new challenge in terms of ethics and legal values. It is a dive into the unknown. Liu Bolin adds: “There is always a deeper meaning to an image, it questions the human soul and spirit. In this new series I challenge the power of the images changing the original ones. It is an attempt to start a war against the images”.
Liu Bolin is part of this generation of Chinese artists who are very sensitive to political, economic, social and environmental transformations of their country. With his series "Hiding in the City", started in 2005, he became a national and international symbol, sometimes admired, sometimes controversial. From this period he is still working on this approach and he brushes himself from head to feet with the aim to hide himself in various places. Each time he chooses supermarkets, historical monuments or jewels of architecture which become symbols of the contemporary society. His works, between "photography and performance" according to art critic Philippe Dagen, reveals the delicate balance of our modern world. In this exhibition, Liu Bolin continues his own thinking on the evolution of the society and gives us a look particularly relevant on the contemporaneity. Nowadays recognized all over the world as one of the most famous photographers of his generation; Liu Bolin doesn’t lack of daring. This exhibition is the occasion for Magda Danysz gallery to present this famous Chinese artist in London for the first time.
Liu Bolin, The Hacker series: Exhibition opening September 3 - October 10, 2015
61 Charlotte Street, London, 5 – 9pm
www.magda-gallery.com