Liu Bolin
Questionnaire

5 November 2012

He travels with around 30 kg of paints. He doesn’t use Photoshop, just a team of “makeup artists.” He dresses in uniform. Between “being” and “not being,” he chooses camouflage, by immersion. He is the performance artist Liu Bolin. Born in 1973, he lives and works in Beijing, and is also known as “The Invisible Man.” First (political) action: Hiding in the City. Last sighting: A Secret Tour, at the Museo Hendrik Christian Andersen in Rome: an exhibition that presents the photographs taken on his last journey in Italy, from the Teatro alla Scala in Milan to the ruins of Pompeii, open until November 11.

The song you never get tired of listening to.

All of Michael Jackson’s.

The movie you can watch over and over again.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Inception.

The book you fell head over heels in love with.

Victor Hugo, Les Misérables.

The object you’re most attached to.

My camera.

Your favorite place.

Switzerland.

A cult film you cannot stand.

I’ve never seen a cult film.

A literary classic you can’t bear.

The Story of the Stone by Cao Xueqin. Also known as The Dream of the Red Chamber.

The most beautiful automobile ever made.

The Lamborghini Diablo.

Three stops on a journey around the world.

Rome, Paris, New York.

A contemporary artist whose future in the history of art is assured.

Me, I hope.

An architect to whom you would entrust the construction of a fantastic place.

I love the Bauhaus and Walter Gropius.

A fashion designer for an epoch-making show.

I haven’t been to many fashion shows, but I’d say Lanvin’s fashion designer, Alber Elbaz.

An elegant person.

Sean Connery.

An inelegant person.

I couldn’t name one.

A bad habit you have?

You’ll have to ask my wife!

What would you like to overindulge in?

Playing soccer.

What can’t you do without?

My family.

What would you like to be a champion of?

I would like more and more people to appreciate my art.

The hotel and restaurant at the top of your personal league table.
I’ve liked all the hotels where I’ve stayed in Europe: they are full of history and that makes them special. Eating on the Eiffel Tower was a thrill. I don’t remember the name of the restaurant.

The greatest invention of all time.

The light bulb.

The historical figure you are most grateful to.

Voltaire.


Susanna Legrenzi

A journalist, she writes for VogueIl Giornale dell’ArchitetturaLa Vita Nova and other periodicals. When not writing, she teaches and organizes exhibitions.


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