Li Songsong Explores the Boundaries of Art and Fashion Through the Lady Dior

Dior Lady Art

Welcome to the Dior Talks series themed around the sixth edition of Dior Lady Art and hosted by Paris-based journalist Katya Foreman. For this year’s event, 12 artists from around the world have participated in a game of metamorphosis by rendering the emblematic Lady Dior handbag as a unique piece of art.

This episode is dedicated to leading contemporary Chinese painter Li Songsong. After revisiting the Lady Dior for the first time in 2008 in the form of a monumental neon sculpture exhibited at the UCCA in Beijing, the artist once again reinvents the House icon. For this new collaboration, Li adapted one of his printed works, Swordsmanship (III), in three different sizes, each enhanced by a subtle patchwork of colors and materials. As singular as they are complementary, when assembled the bags reconstitute the original work in its entirety like an audacious triptych.

Through thickly-painted surfaces representing themes from modern and contemporary Chinese history, Li questions the fluctuating objectivity of memory and souvenirs. Inspired by images from advertising to cinema, Li’s works feature cut-out scenes. The sections, in a range of colors and textures symbolize the multiplicity of perceptions of a same theme, a signature that the Chinese artist reaffirms in his interpretation of the iconic bag.

Tune in to the episode to hear all about Li’s painterly Dior Lady Art journey.