Artists Painted Themselves into an Optical Illusion | Insta of the Week

A photo posted by liubolin (@liubolin) on May 12, 2016 at 4:33am PDT

The art optical illusions meets the art of camoflage in a new collaboration between legendary Franco-Venezuelan artist Carlos Cruz-Diez and Chinese "invisible man" Liu Bolin. The duo disappeared into a brand new wall-sized mural by Cruz-Diez at in Panama using Bolin's signature technique of painting the body to exactly match its background. It's basically the closest you can get to wearing an invisibility cloak without military-grade technology.

They stand in front of an new addition to Cruz-Diez's Chromointerférence painting series, a silkscreened visual treat that already confuses and delights the eyes before you stick two nearly-invisible artists inside it. Cruz-Diez is referred to as "El Maestro de Color," and lives up to that reputation by becoming one with his artwork. Bolin is fresh off of several projects with the United Nations, including one where he blends in with a composite of all the participation nations' flags, and another where he tackles the global food industry.

Check out the process of painting Bolin and Cruz-Diez in the Instagrams below, and watch our documentary The Invisible Artist: Blending Into Liu Bolin's Paintings for a more in-depth look at how it's done below.

Cruz-Diez & Liu Bolin working together in Panama. Hiding in color. #liubolinpanama #cruzdiez @marion_gallery @articruz @liubolin @rgrart #hidingincolor

A photo posted by Marión Gallery Panamá (@marion_gallery) on May 10, 2016 at 2:24pm PDT

Maestro pintando a maestro. @marion_gallery @liubolin @rgrart @articruz #liubolinpanama #cruzdiez #liubolin #mariongallery

A photo posted by Marión Gallery Panamá (@marion_gallery) on May 10, 2016 at 9:49pm PDT

A photo posted by Gabriel Cruz (@gabocruz10) on May 11, 2016 at 8:27pm PDT

Master Cruz Diez with liubolin

A photo posted by liubolin (@liubolin) on May 10, 2016 at 11:38pm PDT