When it comes to fashion, Christian Dior is hard core, one of the biggest names in the business. So what happens when it's just plain hard? The answer is impressive.
Christian Dior, an international giant of fashion, conjures up images of an empire of trendy outfits, perfumes and handbags.
However, under artist Liu Jianhua's hands, the chic luxuries have been torn up, flattened and finally transformed into a cluster of plain white porcelain pieces.
Sponsored by Christian Dior, Liu's artworks will be featured in an exhibition, together with 10 other cutting-edge Chinese contemporary artists, at the Guy and Myriam Ullens Foundation in Beijing on Saturday.
"Luckily, my wife didn't witness the whole process, otherwise she would be mad at me," says the Shanghai-based artist, laughing. "And I definitely know that many girls will 'hate' me."
Cleverly, Liu has transformed the Western luxury brand into a subtle context of traditional Chinese porcelain.
Orderly rows of porcelain boots, shoes, handbags and perfume bottles will fill the exhibition space beneath a big, shining golden logo of "Christian Dior" hanging from the ceiling, overlooking the whole spectacular scene.
The choice of porcelain as a medium is closely linked to Liu's own life experience and the history of China.
Born in 1962 in Ji'an, Jiangxi Province, Liu at the age of 12 was sent to work with his uncle, a Chinese arts and crafts master, in the city of Jingdezhen, China's capital of ceramic production since the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
"When I was a little boy, I was so bored making porcelain in Jingdezhen," he recalls. "At that time, I told myself I wouldn't stay there for long."
Little did he realize that porcelain would one day become his signature medium, although fused with more meaning. His early thought-provoking ceramic works of headless women in qipao posing different postures on ceramic plates won critical acclaim.
