There is only one word that crosses your lips when you look at Li Wei’s photography: impossible. The Chinese photographer uses a combination of mirrors, wires, scaffolding, and acrobatics. Not to mention: gumption. It is not unusual in Beijing to see performance artist Li Wei suspended over a building with nothing to support him but 300 feet of limitless air or Li Wei standing upside down with his head in solid concrete. It’s complete insanity, but there is the occasional native with a camera in hand snapping a shot of this ludicrousness. There is no concept of the notion of gravity in his photography. Anyone is able to plant themselves on balloons and be perfectly content and oblivious to the danger that it may pop any second and pummel them into the floor. His photography is meant to be psychically amusing and to mirror the public literally. His artistic works entail the ideas of striving for freedom, but also preserving the remnants of emotional 
security still available.
The performance artist’s humble beginnings started as a student at a private arts academy, but he quickly deterred from oil painting when he discovered that performance art was the only art in which his body could be involved to convey his messages through his own actions. He started his first project called Mirroring in 2000. Needless to say, what he experiences during his performances inspires him for future projects.
Many have wondered just how this process come about. Simply, Li Wei cuts a hole, one porportionate to his head in a mirror and sticks his head in. The images that reflect on the mirror create the illusion. Let’s say, if it’s facing the sky, it’ll look like he’s hovering above. 
And basically all there’s left of him to do is wiring and basic acting (i.e, a shocked expression could suffice). Close-ups are more striking since most seem to exclude an arm or the whole length of a body. His photography mirrors that of our imagination, bringing situations that we could only dream and hope of into reality. We question our perception as we see ourselves in this surreal world anew.
Plus, he is much acclaimed since he doesn't need an image manipulator like Photoshop to create the impossible.
If you like Li Wei, you’ll also like:
Denis Darzaq’s Hyper
one example:
William Hundley’s Entopic Phenomena
an example:
William Lamson
Olivo Barbieri’s Site Specific
an example:
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