The art of Li Wei

Li Wei Falls to the Car (Beijing, 2003). Li Wei was born in 1970. The son of a farmer, he studied at a private arts school until he tired of the school's traditional approach Photograph: Sinopix/Rex Features

29 Levels of Freedom (Beijing, 2003). Li worked in oil until 1999 when he realised that "only performance art offers a chance to experience an action’s message through one’s own body" Photograph: Sinopix/Rex Features

Freedegree over 25th Storey (Beijing, 2004). His first significant appearance in the art world was at the 2000 Shanghai Biennale. He entered the opening ceremony without permission to perform an installation in the lobby Photograph: Sinopix/Rex Features

Li Wei Falls to New York (New York, 2006). In the 90s, Li Wei worked in a number of jobs to afford to live in Beijing and keep painting. He delivered food and worked as a housekeeper, an experience he says was key to his artistic vision Photograph: Sinopix/Rex Features

On the Surface of the Earth (Beijing, 2004). Li has been performing around the world since 2000, appearing in New York, Venice and many other centres of art Photograph: Sinopix/Rex Features

Li Wei Falls to the Como Lake (Italy, 2004). About the Fall photographs, Li Wei says, 'this feeling of having fallen headfirst into something and of having nothing firm under the feet is familiar to everyone. One doesn’t have to fall from another planet to feel it' Photograph: Sinopix/Rex Features

Love at the High Place (Beijing, 2004). Li has said that much of his work involves the symbolic balancing act between personal freedom and emotional security, such as that of the family Photograph: Sinopix/Rex Features

A Pause for Humanity (Beijing, 2005). In 1999, Li Wei performed a piece called It Would Not Die Away Such for invited journalists and artists. He covered himself in earth and lay in a bed, with only his erect penis visible Photograph: Sinopix/Rex Features

Bright Apex (Beijing, 2007). He says that much of his work is about change: 'there is a feeling of losing a grip on things, an uncertainty about the morrow. It’s a feeling of hanging in the air, of having nothing firm under the feet' Photograph: Sinopix/Rex Features