Li Wei always wanted to become an artist. He studied at a private arts school, but had to work at odd jobs to support himself later on. While he was then able to work securely as an artist using paint, Li realized that performance art was the only way that he could truly express himself. Thus began his foray into his “action shots”.
When Li began his performance art series around 2000, they were simply that: performance art. The photographs only came in when Li wanted pictures to document his performances. When Li began his “Falls Into…” series, (depicting the artist literally falling into walls, cars, roads, etc.), photography became an integral part of his works.In order to pull off these amazing shots, Li uses anything from mirrors to heavy-duty rope to rented-out cranes. These elements are then edited out to give a sense of impossibility to his pictures. While the editing process might fall under the Photoshop category, it’s important to note that 99% of his images are done on the scene and the final 1% is just retouching.
(via oij)
