Chinese singer-songwriter Chen Chusheng has commissioned 14 original paintings by Li Erpeng for the vinyl edition of Wasteland of Wonders. Variety reported that the works are incorporated into the physical package, linking the recordings with a parallel visual narrative.
Paintings develop alongside the songs
Some images respond to specific tracks, while others grew from stories and imagined scenes arising during the collaboration. Together, they create a visual landscape around the record's moods.
Chen said he wanted listeners to see the emotions and growth within the music as well as hear them. He described Li as an artist he admired and the resulting LP as an object he wanted to keep.
Li developed the canvases gradually alongside the music. He sees his role as translating the world created by the songs into painted imagery. Winners Gallery represents him for the collaboration.
A physical release draws on two creative careers
Based in Hong Kong, Li makes collectible works centred on notable figures, including athletes. Recent pieces combine painting with elaborate sculptural frames so that image and surrounding structure operate as one artwork.
He is also preparing a computer-animated world for a film in pre-production. His work is held by Beijing's Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum and Sydney's White Rabbit Gallery.
Chen became widely known after winning Super Boy in 2007 and later won Singer 2025. QQ Music awarded the vinyl edition Double Diamond certification when pre-orders opened on June 9.
The 14 paintings now provide another route into the album through an object designed for listening, viewing and collecting.