Chinese singer-songwriter Chen Chusheng has commissioned contemporary artist Li Erpeng to create 14 original paintings for the vinyl release of his album “Wasteland of Wonders.” QQ Music awarded the edition its Double Diamond sales certification on June 9, the day pre-orders began.
Chen said he hopes the LP will let listeners see as well as hear the album’s emotions, fractures and growth. He described Li as an artist he admires and said the collaboration had turned the record into a work of art he wants to keep.
Some paintings respond to particular tracks, while others developed from stories and imagined scenes that emerged during the collaboration. Li created the works gradually alongside the music, bringing together imagery from the songs and ideas that arose as he painted. He said his role was to put on canvas the world he hears in the music.
The paintings are incorporated into the vinyl package, offering fans a visual counterpart to the recordings. Li said he hopes buyers will see the life, growth and hope in the images as well as hear the songs. Winners Gallery represents him for the project.
Based in Hong Kong, Li makes collector pieces modeled on figures including athletes. His recent work combines paintings with elaborate sculptural frames. He is also preparing a CG-animated world for a film in pre-production. His work is held by the Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum in Beijing and Sydney’s White Rabbit Gallery.
Chen first rose to national prominence in China after winning Hunan TV’s “Super Boy” in 2007. He later won the broadcaster’s “Singer 2025” competition. In April 2026, his stadium concert in Nanchang drew about 50,000 fans, a personal attendance record at the time. Beijing Radio & Television reported that the tickets sold out in 24 minutes, while Nanchang’s state-assets authority attributed close to RMB1 billion ($149 million) in local consumer spending to the event.
Sources: Variety.