Chinese artist presents work to mark Earth Day

Chinese performance artist Kong Ning dressed in a gown made of red balloon lips on Thursday to draw attention to environmental causes on Earth Day.

The 64-year-old Kong has displayed her iconic wearable art pieces on each Earth Day for over a decade to increase public awareness of world peace and protecting the environment.

This year her work is titled: "Kissing the Earth."

Standing in a grey-brick alley in central Beijing, Kong wears a crown in the shape of a globe, with 40 inflatable red lips fitted on a wire structure that trails behind her like a wedding gown train.

Kong uses "kiss" symbols to express "the love of all human beings to the Earth".

The red wires symbolise blood vessels that connect her with the Earth, said Kong.

"This year during the pandemic people have to wear masks, but they really want to kiss the mother Earth," Kong said.

"So I came up with the idea of using flaming red lips."

Kong said she wished she could display her artwork in the countries that are parties to the Paris Climate Agreement, especially the United States.