Chinese street artist finds perfect canvas to show city's rapid development – Beijing’s abandoned buildings

A Chinese artist in Beijing who calls himself ROBBBB has found a unique canvas for his work – one he hopes helps capture the fast-paced changes in China’s capital – the walls of abandoned and half-demolished buildings.

On crumbling edifices down back alleys or by construction sites he has pasted enlarged images of photographs of people he has taken from around the city, sometimes striking unlikely poses.

One well-worn wall depicts a man in a suit kneeling and holding out a glowing flower among piles of debris.

Another series is made up of huge images of smiling faces stuck to broken walls around the city that – like many in China – is dotted with demolition and construction sites. Other images show legs that appear to stick up out of the ground.

ROBBBB, 25 – who declined to be identified by his real name – said his work is a comment on the development of Beijing, home to more than 20 million people and the capital of the world’s second-largest economy.

“After the 2008 Olympics, Beijing developed more and more rapidly,” he said.

“Tall buildings and towers rose from the ground, producing more urban ruins. I believe that these ruins are the intersection of the city’s development.

“They’re actually just like street art – they all contain some sort of temporary quality. I hope that years later, people will see my art and think of Beijing of that time.”

China is home to a coterie of contemporary painters whose works fetch millions of dollars at auction, but street artists are rare.