Artist dangling horizontally out of a skyscraper

Dangling horizontally out of a skyscraper, this hovering figure looks set to fall to his doom.

But this 'jumper' hasn't just lost it all on a game of chance - this is performance art with a difference.

Chinese artist Li Wei has produced an unsettling series of self-portraits involving his face reflected in mirrors in public places, and photographs of himself crashing into walls and sidewalks.

His work is a mixture of performance art and photography that creates illusions of a sometimes dangerous reality.

artisit hanging out window

Creating hair-raising performances to convey his continual sense of lost gravity, Wei has taken his work all over the world from Italy, Spain, Korea and the USA.

"My work and artistic experience are characterised by a unique specificity and particularity," says the 37-year-old artist from Beijing.

"My artistic language is universal and deals with themes about contemporary politics and society using symbols understood by everyone in every part of the world.

"I am fascinated by the unstable and dangerous sides of art and I hope my works reflect these aspects.

Wei's photos, which sell up to $8,000 (£4,200), depict him free falling from tall buildings-pictures that resemble the famous photograph of the French artist Yves Kline hurtling out a window.

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