Installation view of Shuang Li's exhibition "I'm Not" at Swiss Institute, New York
When does fan art become fine art?
That is a question close to the heart of Shuang Li, a Chinese artist whose work is inspired by her favourite band, My Chemical Romance (MCR).
Although Li’s work has little in common with the sketches of idols that define fan art, her new show at the Swiss Institute in New York leaves no doubt she is making reference to MCR, the American emo group who broke through to the mainstream with their second album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, in 2004.
The centrepiece of the major exhibition is an installation called Heart Is A Broken Record. It features a heart-shaped working fountain with images of screaming fans at MCR concerts projected from above.
