Defying Gravity: The impossible art of Li Wei
(From MutualArt)
He's a defier of gravity. A master of illusion. A seemingly superhuman acrobat who can bend the laws of physics at will. If you guessed Houdini, you would be close... Chinese Artist Li Wei is a daredevil DaVinci of sorts, a connoisseur of danger who effortlessly blends the boundaries between fantasy and reality.
As the artist stated in a recent interview with MutualArt.com, "My works represent a radical change of urban life." Radical? Certainly. With his fearless approach to art, Li Wei knows no limits when it comes to performance and action photography. His creations have been known to elicit gasps of disbelief from captivated viewers, and he has often been lauded as a barrier-breaker - literally.
"I was a performance artist before turning to photography. Now I merge performance elements into photographs," Li says. "I think my ideas and my expression in the photos make the works seem like the live performance."
Weightless breakfast, 2010, 155x232.5cm
This couldn't be any clearer when looking at his innovative creations: In many of his pieces, the artist is often featured falling, half-submerged or careening sideways through walls, windows, and even car windshields.
But it's not just for amusement - or shock value - that Wei is after. His works are disconcerting reminders that we are often helpless bystanders within a social framework. "Suspension means the dangerous and unstable aspects of society," Wei says. In a 2002 piece titled Li Wei Falls from the Earth, the artist is shown with his head and chest embedded in the asphalt of a nearby road. His body - half swallowed up by blacktop - resembles a rocket that has plummeted to earth.
The work was both a commentary on China's rapidly changing society as well as an illustration of the individual's personal struggle in life. "If you picture someone falling to earth from another planet, there would really be no soft landing, whether the landing were in China or in another part of the world," the artist said in a previous interview. "This feeling of having fallen headfirst into the unknown and of having nothing firm under one's feet is familiar to everyone. One doesn't have to actually fall from another planet to feel that way."
Liwei falls to the Earth, 2002, 120x212.2cm
So how does he do it? As a former performance artist, Li Wei is physically present before, during, and after the creation of his art. "Action is my personal experience, which is very important, because all of my works are shot from real sites," he explains. With the help of a technical crew utilizing a system of pulleys, cables and even cranes, Li Wei is hoisted in the air or held erect by scaffolding. He "performs" in a variety of sites and positions while a photographer captures the scene on film. Post-production, the artist uses photoshop to remove any cables or wires. In this way, Li Wei brings his impossible daredevil imaginings to life.
Read the full article at MutualArt.
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First Posted: 01/14/11 04:13 PM ET Updated: 05/25/11 07:25 PM ET