In dress of giant inflatable roses, Chinese artist marks Earth Day

Artist Kong Ning, wearing a face mask following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, prepares for a portrait in a wearable art piece she made to mark Earth Day, during a Reuters interview outside her studio in Beijing, China April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Wearing a dress she made of eight giant plastic inflatable roses over a wire structure and a headpiece crowned by a globe, Chinese performance artist Kong Ning is using fashion to draw attention to environmental protection on Earth Day.

"Roses represent love," she said on Wednesday, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.

"I think I have responsibility to let everyone know about the love that I express, so that more people can love and care about the earth, care about our home."

Artist Kong Ning, wearing a face mask following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, poses for a portrait in a wearable art piece she made to mark Earth Day, during a Reuters interview outside her studio in Beijing, China April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Kong, 63, has been an advocate for environmental protection for two decades, designing big and bold dresses that make a statement.

Earlier this year, she created a two-dress project called "Big mask of the blue skies", which included a white wedding dress adorned with blue surgical masks, to show hope in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak, which began in China.

Artist Kong Ning, wearing a face mask following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, poses for a portrait in a wearable art piece she made to mark Earth Day, during a Reuters interview outside her studio in Beijing, China April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

(Reporting by Nanlin Fang and Tony Munroe; Editing by Alison Williams)

Artist Kong Ning, wearing a face mask following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, prepares for a portrait in a wearable art piece she made to mark Earth Day, during a Reuters interview outside her studio in Beijing, China April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Artist Kong Ning, wearing a face mask following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, poses for a portrait in a face-mask themed wearable art piece she made, during a Reuters interview at her studio in Beijing, China April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Artist Kong Ning, wearing a face mask following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, prepares for a portrait in a wearable art piece she made to mark Earth Day, during a Reuters interview at her studio in Beijing, China April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins